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On Tuesday, Feb. 2, fire and law enforcement officials said the cause of the Jan. 30 fire at 16 Auclair St. in Blackstone was electrical.
The fire, which engulfed a one-family home converted with an apartment on the side, was fatal for Teagan “Dave” Lafayette, 30, who lived there. Lafayette was an inspector for Tegra Medical in Franklin. He enjoyed fishing and gaming, Lafayette's obituary said.
A GoFundMe campaign was started for Lafayette’s family with the goal of raising $!5,000. As of Friday, Feb. 5, more than $34,700 had been pledged to the campaign. The home, which belonged to Lafayette’s parents, was completely destroyed, according to campaign organizer Ann Lesperance.
THE CAUSE
Fire officials said they will never be 100 percent certain, but it seems likely that the fire started in the second-floor living room at a power strip that “clearly failed,” Fire Marshal Pete J. Ostroskey said in a statement.
“Due to the destruction it is not possible to determine if all or some of the electrical appliances in the area were plugged in and running, but investigators found two space heaters, a television, an Xbox, and other electrical appliances nearby,” the Ostroskey said.
The Fire Marshal issued a warning to others about the deadly effects of plugging in too many appliances to one power source - especially if those appliances are space heaters.
“While we cannot say for certain that one or both space heaters were plugged into the power strip, it appears likely they overloaded it," Ostroskey said. "I cannot stress enough how important it is to plug any heat generating appliance directly into the wall. Power strips are not designed to support the energy needed by a space heater."
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