Beverly Fire Department

Fire Investigators Determine Cause

Beverly Fire Investigators working with the State Fire Marshal’s Office worked to determine the cause of a two alarm fire that destroyed a house at 112 Bridge St. Fire crews were initially dispatched to the home after a neighbor noticed smoke coming from it shortly after 1030pm last night.

After looking through the scene and speaking with the homeowner, it was determined that the fire was accidentally started when sparks accidentally came into contact with combustible materials. The homeowner was using a cutting wheel to cut a metal bicycle frame when the sparks got behind a shield he had put in place as a barrier from combustibles stored in the basement. The fire did not start right away but smoldered after the homeowner was done with his work. The homeowner left the house unaware that a fire was about to break out in the basement. Eventually, the combustible materials ignited spreading fire throughout the basement and up to the first and second floors.

The house was valued at $160,000 and there was an additional loss of more than $100,000 in building contents. Deputy Chief William Walsh was the lead Fire Investigator for the Beverly Fire Department.

2 Alarm Fire 112 Bridge St

At 2234 on Saturday, July 16 The Beverly Fire Department responded to a report of a building fire at 106 Bridge St.  Engines 5 and 3 were dispatched with Truck 1 and the Officer in Charge (OIC). The OIC, Captain Russell Halloran, was the first arriving fire official observing heavy smoke coming from most of the structure located at 112 Bridge St but no visible flames. Crews from Engine 5 and Truck 1 arrived shortly after and attempted to make an interior attack on the fire.

As Firefighters Jon Palm, Keith Rivers and Patrick Brady from Engine 5 made their way into the front door of the home, they encountered extremely intense heat and zero visibility. The decision was made to back out the door and ventilate. As the crew exited the building, a front window was opened and the entire house erupted in flames. Captain Halloran requested a second alarm and crews initiated an exterior fire attack.

With crews from Danvers, Salem, Manchester and Wenham on scene, the heavy fire was knocked down. Even with the heavy fire knocked down, crews were limited in their ability to enter the structure to dig out hidden fires by extremely poor structural conditions. The fire had already caused a partial collapse of the first floor into the basement. Crews were forced to dig out any fire they could from the exterior. Initial fire companies were clear of the scene by 0115.

No one was home at the time of the fire and two firefighters were examined at the scene for heat related conditions but none required transport to the hospital. According to Patriot Properties, the house is valued at $160,000 and is a total loss. Firefighters will remain on scene all night as a fire investigation is under way.

While Beverly Firefighters and mutual aid communities operated at the fire, firefighters from Topsfield, Hamilton and Peabody covered Beverly Stations. Roger Baker’s Rehab 5 also worked at the scene with North East Regional Ambulance for firefighter rehab.

July 5, 2011



Beverly Fire and Police Departments responded to a West St address at 2:35pm for a
report of a live large unexploded firework shell on the beach. Crews found a
four inch commercial grade firework that was discovered by people cleaning
up the beach. The device was secured and members of the Massachusetts State
Police bomb squad assigned to the Fire Marshal's Office were alerted and
responded to the scene.
The device was removed to a safe area and detonated by the bomb squad. There
is no way in tell what firework show it came from.  

Beverly firefighters Robert Kelly, Chad McCormack and Mark Brewer responded
with Engine 3. They were assisted by Lieutenant William Fiore from the
Beverly Fire Department Prevention Office and Beverly Patrol Officer Jeff
Tache. They were all released from the scene at 4:00.