By RUSS OLIVO

WOONSOCKET — Investigators were still sifting through the rubble Monday to determine the cause of an unusually fast-moving fire that destroyed a three-family house at 381 Pond St. a day earlier, leaving eight people homeless and killing several pets, fire officials said.

With all of the occupants of the dwelling still inside, the fire may have been quietly burning within the frame of the house for hours before anyone was aware of it, according to Fire Chief Kenneth Finlay.
The first of several calls to the Fire Department came in about 11 a.m., including one from off-duty Firefighter William Savaria, who was driving home from work when he saw flames shooting out of the windows.
Savaria strapped on his gear and began routing the occupants to safety as fellow firefighters rushed to the scene.
But once help arrived, it took a matter of minutes for the roof to collapse, destroying three of the occupants’ motor vehicles parked in a lot beside the home, as well as an assortment of firefighting equipment, including aerial ladders. Although a cat and two birds perished in the blaze, there were no human injuries.
“It was a bad fire that got a good head start on the fire department,” said Finlay. “It was burning long and it was burning fast. In 20 minutes the roof caved in. It was not a normal 20-minute burn.”
George Homsey of Attleboro, the landlord, said he was summoned to the scene by one of his tenants and arrived in time to see the brunt of the blaze.
“It was awful,” said Homsey. “It was engulfed in flames. There was fire and smoke everywhere.”
Homesy said three of his tenants had managed to find alternative lodging, but so far as he knew, the others were still looking for somewhere to live.
The blue, vinyl-sided tenement at the well-traveled junction of Pond and East School streets is little more than a roofless, blackened shell now, with plywood batting already covering the windows.
Homesy, who was surveying the damage Monday afternoon with insurance adjusters and building inspectors, said he was still waiting for a final declaration on whether the home is salvageable. But he said he expects the structure to be deemed a total loss and that what is left standing will have to be razed.
The chief said the fire may have spread as quickly as it did because of its traditional “balloon-frame” construction, meaning there is a continuous gap between the external walls of the dwelling and the framing, leaving plenty of air to fuel the fire from the ground floor to the roof. Also, the house was made of dry, old wood, helping feed the quick burn.
Finlay declined to say much about the origin of the fire, saying that’s part of an open investigation into the cause by the state fire marshal, local firefighters and the police department. Nothing, however, has been ruled out, the chief said.
It took some 42 city firefighters well over two hours to snuff out the blaze, said Finlay. In addition, firefighters from Cumberland, Lincoln, North Smithfield and Blackstone provided mutual aid, staffing fire stations while local crews were tied up at the front lines, Finlay said.
Finlay said the dwelling had been home to three families, with two residents living on the first floor, four on the second and two on the third, but the chief was unable to say who they were.