Firefighters Put Out House Fire Near Magoun Square

Update, Wed., Sept. 18, 10: 15 a.m.: According to Somerville Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher, the cause of Tuesday's fire was still under investigation. Read more here.

Kelleher also provided an update on Deputy Fire Chief James Lucia, who received cuts above the eye while fighting the fire. Lucia was transported to Cambridge Hospital, not Massachusetts General Hospital, as originally reported, according to Kelleher. The deputy chief received some stitches and was back at work Tuesday night, he said.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Somerville firefighters put out a two-alarm house fire at 486 Medford St., near Magoun Square, Tuesday afternoon, and a deputy fire chief was injured battling the flames, according to Somerville Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher.

You can see video of firefighters battling the fire here.


As of approximately 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, fire investigators were on scene, and Kelleher was unable to say if the fire was suspicious or not.


Deputy Chief James Lucia was sent to Massachusetts General Hospital after receiving a cut, according to an email from the Somerville Fire Department. Kelleher said, "A piece of siding flew off the building and cut him above the eye."

The fire department responded to the fire at 3:11 p.m., and called in a second alarm at 3:23 p.m., the fire chief said.

The fire was between the first and second floor decks of the front porch. Smoke and flames were visible from the street as firefighters ripped siding off the home to get to the fire.

An off duty fire lieutenant, Thomas Gorman, was the first to arrive at the scene, and he checked the home and made sure at least two people were out by the time on-duty fire companies arrived, according to Kelleher.

Kelleher was not sure Tuesday afternoon how many people lived in the home, but he said it would be uninhabitable Tuesday night. The American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts said in an email it was responding to the fire.

Kelleher, giving a rough estimate, said the fire caused about $150,000 in damage.

Somerville Patch will provide more information when it becomes available.