Beverly Fire Department

32 Hull St.

     Just before 10pm on December 25, 2012 Beverly firefighter were dispatched to 32 Hull St for and out of control fireplace fire. Upon arrival Deputy Chief Michael Acciavatti observed smoke coming from the exterior of the home from the left side if the chimney.

    Captain Chris Halloran, Firefighters AJ Petronzio and Brad Saunders from Truck 1 as well as Lieutenant Arthur Fitzpatrick and Firefighters Dean Julien and Scott Steeves arrived on scene shortly after Acciavatti and immediately when to work pulling walls to find the seat of the fire. Crews from Truck 2, Firefighters Joe Tucker, David Genest and Michael Zarbano went to the second floor looking for fire extension. Two hose lines were stretched from Truck 1 to fight the fire. Firefighters had to dismantle a large part of the fireplace in order to access and extinguish the deep seated fire.

   The home owners where home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries reported. The home had fire, water and smoke damage in the living room area that was significant enough to displace the residents.

    A crew from North East regional Ambulance stood by the scene as well as Beverly police. National grid was also called to the scene to cut power to the home.

    Danvers and Salem covered the Central Fire Station and Manchester covered the West St station while Beverly crew where at the fire. All companies were released from the scene at midnight.

PIO FF Chad McCormack

At 1940, the Beverly Fire Department received an automatic fire alarm activation notification for 22 Federal St, the Maclean building. The structure is a 5 story apartment building with 57 units primarily occupied by older adults. As firefighters arrived, Beverly Police reported a fire in unit 311.

Truck 1 crew, Lt Matt Kowalski and FF Jay Terry encountered a light smoke condition on the third floor and heavy smoke at the apartment door. Upon entering the apartment, they found heavy heat and flames in the kitchen area. A sprinkler head was operating inside the apartment slowing the fire from spreading to other areas of the apartment. The firefighters were able to quickly knock down the main body of fire with a fire extinguisher and firefighters from Truck 2 were able to get a hose line to the fire floor to completely extinguish the fire.

While firefighters were working on the fire floor, Beverly Police Officers were evacuating occupants in adjacent apartments and from floors below. Additional crews from Northeast Regional Ambulance were also called to the scene to assist with the evacuated occupants.

The fire damage was confined to unit 311, approximately 8 units on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors were unable to be occupied until repairs could be made. Members of the Beverly Housing Authority, Emergency Management, and Board of Health responded to the scene to assess damage and determine where to relocate displaced occupants. Some occupants were moved to open apartments while others went with family members.

Fire damage was estimated at more than $30,000 and there were no injuries. The fire

Was caused unintentionally by combustibles stored too close to an operating gas stove top. Firefighters from Manchester, Salem and Danvers covered Beverly stations while Beverly firefighter worked at the fire. Initial crews were clear of the scene at 2020. A Fire Watch detail remained on scene to oversee the building because the fire alarm system was damaged by the fire.

At 1158 Beverly firefighters responded for a report of a fire in the walls at 15 Dodge St. Upon arrival, Truck 1 found an odor of wood burning and heat in the hidden space behind the walls. Crews immediately stretched lines and opened the walls to uncover the hidden fire. The main body of fire was discovered in an area immediately above the fireplace and quickly knocked down by Lt. Matthew Kowalski and Firefighter Jay Terry.

In order to determine that the fire had not spread, additional crews opened ceilings and walls in the area but found no additional fire. All crews were clear of the scene by 1217.

An ember from the fire place that was able to get into the walls caused the fire.

As the final crews were clearing, and other companies were on medical aid calls, a second report of fire came in for the Lakeview Motor Lodge, 5 Lakeview Ave. Upon arrival, Captain Jeff Sirois observed heavy smoke coming from the first and second floors near the center of the building. Truck 2 arrived first and Firefighters Steve White, William Moran and Sean Murray advanced a line to the second floor. An additional line was stretched to the first floor where crews encountered heavy fire in the walls and ceiling. As additional crews arrived, they were sent to attack the fire spreading up through the second floor units and Truck 1 cut a hole in the roof to allow for heat and fire to escape without spreading across the attic.

Given the size of the building and location of fire, second and third alarms were struck bringing crews from Salem, Wenham, Manchester, Danvers, Topsfield, Peabody, and Swampscott to the fire. Through hard work and coordination, the fire was prevented from spreading laterally to the rest of the structure.

There were no reports of injuries, but the rear half of the building was left uninhabitable until repairs to the fire alarm system and other utilities could be made. There are a total of 23 units in the building approximately six were directly impacted by the fire. The fire started as a result of workmen using a torch inadvertently starting a fire in a wall as they were working. Damage estimates are unavailable at this time.