Extension Cord to Blame for Fatal Fire in Wayland

Wayland Fire Chief Vincent Smith and Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan are blaming an extension cord for the fire that killed 85-year-old Joseph Kozlowski in his Gage Road home just after midnight Friday.

Investigators have verified that the fire started in the basement and the cause was "an extension cord that may have been overloaded, but more importantly could not function correctly because there was a large pile of material on top of it," according to a press release.

Heat from the extension cord could not dissipate into the air due to the materials on top of it and eventually led to the cord's failure.

“The home was extremely cluttered making an emergency escape from the home nearly impossible and making it extremely difficult for firefighters to gain entry, to conduct search and rescue, and to put out the fire,” Coan said. “Hoarding is a serious safety issue not only for the occupants of a building, but also for responding firefighters,” he added.

This is the first fatal building fire in Wayland since 1995.

“I offer our condolences to the family and friends of the victim," said Smith, who was sworn in as chief of the Wayland Fire Deparment just days before the fire. "This is a tragic outcome that so many agencies had worked to try to prevent.”

The who spotted smoke just after midnight Friday. Firefighters arrived at 2 Gage Road within four minutes and pulled Kozlowski, who lived alone, from his home. Paramedics at the scene "determined that resuscitation efforts were not indicated."