MIDDLEBOROUGH — On Monday, September 1, 2025, at approximately 2:50 a.m., firefighters with the Middleborough Fire Department were dispatched to 72 Everett Street following a report of a house fire.
According to a joint statement from Middleborough Fire Chief Owen Thompson, Middleborough Police Chief Robert Ferreira, State Fire Marshal Jon Davine, and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, when crews arrived on scene, they were met with heavy flames coming from a two-story, multi-family home.
Firefighters quickly began battling the blaze and entered the home, where they found 90-year-old Anne Tichelaar on the first floor. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Middleborough Fire and Police Departments, State Police fire investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s office, and State Police detectives from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office. Preliminary findings indicate the fire began accidentally in the first-floor living room due to smoking materials.
“On behalf of the Middleborough Fire Department, I again want to express our heartfelt condolences to Ms. Tichelaar’s loved ones,” said Chief Thompson. “I also want to remind all our residents that smoking is the leading cause of fatal fires in Massachusetts. It’s especially dangerous to smoke in bed. Please, if you smoke or have guests who do, always use a heavy ashtray with water or sand and put it out, all the way, every time.”
