UPDATE: Hingham Family Left Homeless After Fire

A Hingham family of four safely escaped a fire Monday morning that destroyed their East Street home and killed two pets.

Hingham Fire Chief Mark Duff said the cause of fire is still under investigation while a family member of the homeowner said the cause is unknown.

“On arrival, there was heavy fire throughout the house,” Duff said. “There was fire out several of the windows.”

The fire was reported in the 200 block of East Street, just after 11:15 a.m. Monday, and the Hingham Fire Department along with responders from Hull, Scituate, Rockland, Cohasset, and Weymouth arrived within minutes,  attacking flames from the exterior. Chief Duff said there was no firefighting from the interior of the home.

The brother of the homeowner, who asked not to be named, said a pet dog and rabbit were killed in the blaze.  He also said the house belonged to a Hingham couple with two kids.

The homeowners looked distraught as they stood in freezing rain on East Street and watched their home in flames.  None of the homeowners wished to speak with reporters.

No family members were hurt in the blaze, but one firefighter was slightly injured after falling in the exterior of the home.

As of 1:30 p.m.  the fire was nearly extinguished, with small flames and heavy smoke still seen coming from the roof.   The windows were burnt out and the interior looked completely damaged by flames.

Although it only took firefighters five minutes to respond to the blaze, Chief Duff said the fire hydrant was buried in snow which caused a minimal delay.

The Fire Chief said he strongly encourages other residents in town to shovel out their hydrants.

As of 2 p.m. East Street (Route 228), from Route 3A to Hull Street, was still closed to traffic.