Investigation Points to Dog Starting East Greenwich Apartment Fire

A Sept. 5 fire in an apartment at 242 Main Street in East Greenwich apparently was started by a dog, according to police.

The fire, which broke out at around 7:50 p.m., was quickly extinguished by members of the East Greenwich Fire Department and initially deemed suspicious.

According to a police report, firefighters told police that it looked like someone put papers on the stove and left.

As the investigation continued, authorities tracked down the homeowner, who said she left at around 2 p.m. and her live-in boyfriend left at 7 p.m. She told police that there were no domestic issues or reason they’d start the fire.

By then, the fire marshal arrived on scene and through “investigation, interviews and looking at the damage, it is believed an empty pizza box that was left on the stove may have attracted one of the dogs to jump up and knock it off,” according to a police report. “The box then fell and charred the wall behind the stove.”

Somehow, the dog apparently turned on the stove during the jumping, triggering the chain reaction of events.

The fire caused a smoke alarm to sound in the building, prompting calls to the fire department.

The close proximity to the fire station and quick work by firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to other units.