Crime & Safety

About 45 Displaced, 8 Homes Damaged in Thursday Fire

There were no outward signs of arson, but the fire is under investigation, according to Somerville's fire chief.




About 45 people were displaced after a massive fire damaged eight homes on Calvin Street and Beacon Place Thursday morning, according to Somerville Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher.

None of the residents were hurt, Kelleher said, but two firefighters suffered injuries. A firefighter from Brookline went to Cambridge Hospital with a leg injury and was released by Thursday afternoon, and a firefighter from Everett went to Massachusetts General Hospital for respiratory and smoke inhalation problems and was still under observation as of Thursday afternoon, the fire chief said.

Kelleher said the fire, which struck 15 to 29 Calvin Street and 22 and 24 Beacon Place, spread quickly. Within 15 minutes of staring, the fire had spread to the porches of four buildings, the fire chief said.

At least two buildings will probably need to be demolished.

Fire departments from about 20 different communities around Boston responded to the seven-alarm fire, Kelleher said.

Thursday's blaze was the latest in a series of fires that have struck Somerville in July. On July 12 firefighters battled two early-morning fires that struck within half an hour of each other. Those fires were just a few blocks away from Thursday's Calvin Street blaze.

On July 19, firefighters again put out two early-morning fires, one at 27 Lake St., about a quarter of a mile from the Calvin Street scene.

Kelleher said, "There is no indication now this is an arson fire." However, the fire department's fire investigation unit, along with Somerville police and the Massachusetts State Police fire marshal are investigating the cause, he said.

Jarrett Barrios, CEO of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts, who was in Somerville Thursday afternoon, said "The month of July for us here in Eastern Massachusetts has been sort of a record number of responses. We have had 45 in Eastern Massachusetts that we've responded to, and six or seven right here in Somerville."

As of Thursday afternoon, the Red Cross had opened 22 cases for residents who needed assistance, including a case for pregnant woman and her husband "who lost everything," Barrios said.

The Red Cross set up a reception center at the nearby Argenziano School where residents could receive food and assistance.

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