Fires in Cambridge, Lowell, Jamaica Plain displace 48 residents
Fires in Cambridge, Lowell, and the Jamaica Plain section of Boston have displaced a total of 48 residents from their homes this weekend.
Early Saturday morning, a fire damaged the third floor of a three-family house in Cambridge, displacing about eight people, according to the Cambridge Fire Department.
The three-alarm-fire at 83 Trowbridge St. began to burn through the third floor of the house at about 5:30 a.m., according to a department spokesman, who said the bulk of the damage was on the third floor of the house. There were no injuries reported.
The fire in Lowell started about 3:38 p.m. Friday in an alley between two apartment buildings on Chestnut Street, said Deputy Fire Chief Michael Donnelly. No injuries were reported, but two apartment buildings on Chestnut Street were destroyed.
A third apartment building—on Willow Street, which intersects with Chestnut—was also “a complete loss.’’
Donnelly said Saturday that investigators are looking into the possibility that the fire was started by children playing with a lighter. “The fire investigation unit is still working on it,’’ he said.
The Red Cross is helping 28 people who were displaced in the blaze. Some of them spent Friday night at the Lowell Senior Center, said Deputy Fire Chief Patrick McCabe.
Personnel from Dracut, Lawrence, Methuen, and Tyngsborough helped Lowell firefighters knock down the five-alarm fire in about an hour and a half, McCabe said. Crews stayed on the scene until 1 a.m. Saturday to douse hot spots.
Late Friday, a fire in Jamaica Plain displaced 12 adults, following the careless disposal of a cigarette on Friday night, said Steve MacDonald, Boston Fire Department spokesman.
The fire started at about 11:40 p.m. on the rear porch of 83 Paul Gore St., a three-story house, MacDonald said. A dozen adults were displaced, but no injuries were reported. The incident caused about $100,000 in damage. MacDonald said it is unclear whether the fire damaged the inside of the home.
The one-alarm fire was knocked down at 12:11 a.m. Crews cleared the scene at 1:40 a.m.
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