Firefighters Put out Golf Cart Fire at Carnegie Abbey

Members of the Portsmouth Fire Department extinguished a fire that started when a golf cart burst into flame on Carnegie Abbey property early Wednesday.

Firefighters responded to a maintenance area at around 1:20 a.m. after a 911 call from an employee who said a six-passenger cart was on fire near a maintenance barn.

Employees were breaking down from the Jeffery Osborne Charity Champions Dinner Gala when the fire broke out.

Crews arrived to find the golf cart engulfed in flames that were extending into an open storage container nearby.

Firefighters spent nearly an hour fighting the fire, which was knocked down quickly but needed to be doused for some time before it was fully extinguished.

Portsmouth Fire Department Dep. Chief Michael P. O’Brien said in an interview that the fire does not appear to be suspicious.

“It’s likely a mechanical malfunction,” O’Brien said. “It’s a gas powered golf cart and started on the underside of the cart.”

It was a busy 24 hour for the Fire Department in general. Crews responded to 17 incidents during the time period, according to a post on the Portsmouth Fire Department Rhode Island Fanpage on Facebook.

O’Brien said that the department responded to eight medical emergencies, one hazardous condition, the golf cart fire, a car accident and “various other stuff.”

“It was busy, but that’s routine for the summer,” the deputy chief said.

Photo: Portsmouth Fire Department Rhode Island Fanpage via Facebook