Congress Street ash fire
Published on February 19th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA-The accidental storing of still-hot ashes from a wood-burning stove may have been the culprit behind a garage fire at Six Congress Street last week.
According to Stoneham Fire Department officials, a call last Thursday, Feb. 13, at 11:36 a.m. for a garage on fire. Company Three, led by Capt. Joe Rolli, rode Engine One with a ladder and arrived at the address two minutes later.
“They took a line off the ladder truck, and they had the fire down very quickly,” said Stoneham Deputy Chief James Halpin.
According to Halpin, there was a Stoneham postal worker who first noticed the fire at the then-empty Kurdzionak home, and also noticed the family dog tied to the burning garage. The worker helped to clear the dog from danger, and then contacted the fire department.
Due to the quick actions of all parties involved, the fire was contained to the front portion of the garage and incurred minimal damage.
“The fire mostly contained the contents in the front because it was a block garage,” said Halpin of the detached garage. “There is damage to the front right corner and the door was destroyed, but, structurally, the building is alright.”
According to Stoneham fire officials, the cause of the blaze was determined by the Stoneham Fire Inspectors to be the accidental result of trash stored in the garage.
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