Firefighters block spread of 3-alarm Winthrop Street blaze
Published on July 9th, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - Firefighters averted a major Independence Day catastrophe when they blocked intense flames from spreading to neighboring homes while battling a three-alarm blaze on Winthrop Street.
No residents were hurt in the fire, although one local firefighter did sustain a knee injury. He has since been released from the hospital and is expected to return to duty, according to Stoneham Fire Chief Joseph Rolli.
“The cause is still undetermined. The State Fire Marshall came out and couldn't figure out how it started. It was definitely not from fireworks, even though we did hear some going off in the area,” said Rolli, addressing one rumor about the blaze's origin.
At approximately 10:44 p.m., local dispatchers were informed that a fire had flared-up in a multi-family residence located at 6 Winthrop Street. Upon arrival, Stoneham crews found the structure heavily engulfed in flames, and a second alarm was immediately struck.
Yet another alarm was struck approximately 25 minutes later, and it took over four hours for firefighters from five different communities to finally knock the blaze completely down.
The mutual aid call brought assistance from Woburn, Winchester, Wakefield, and Malden at the scene, while firefighters from Reading and North Reading covered the Central Street station.
Rolli credited the quick response of local firefighters, as well as crews from surrounding communities, with containing the fire, which threatened to spread to adjacent homes.
“The main concern when they showed up was that the fire was blown out to the back and out the right side of the house,” said Rolli, who explained that crews immediately made an interior entry to battle the blaze.
“In my 25 years, that was one of the most labor intensive jobs I've ever been involved in,” added Rolli, who said that multiple walls, ceilings, and other fixtures had to be torn open to expose the flames. “They just worked hard. If we didn't have mutual aid, we were losing two or three houses.”
According to the fire chief, the house sustained significant smoke, fire, and water damage, and is all but destroyed. The blaze, which apparently started in an upper floor where a porch meets the house, spread throughout the structure.
Rolli attributes the intensity of the fire to the construction of the home, which like many in the surrounding neighborhood, did not have fire stops that extended from each level across to the exterior of the dwelling.
“These are old houses that were built in the Lincoln Street area. So when you get a fire and it gets into the walls, it just shoots up to the upper floors. Nothing stops it,” the fire chief explained.
“I talked to the owner yesterday and I believe he intends to tear [the home] down,” Rolli added. “The fire spread everywhere. The whole left side is charred.”
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