Published: 09/07/2007 Intruder camped in basement may have sparked fire By Matthew K. Roy Staff Writer
SALEM - The tenants of a three-story apartment building on Andrew Street have suspected for weeks that something was going on in the basement.
The loud banging sounds coming from below on Wednesday night couldn't be ignored. "We had the police here last night because we could hear something," said Sharon Ivey, a first-floor resident of 7 Andrew Street, just off Salem Common. But the officers who investigated around 1 a.m. didn't find anyone down there. "They came, they looked, they left," Ivey said. Hours later, about 9:45 a.m. yesterday, Ivey fled the apartment she shares with her adult daughter, Brianna. "I was having a cup of tea, and the alarm went off and I grabbed my animals and ran." Smoke was coming from the basement. Firefighters responded and didn't find anyone. But they did find where the fire started. "The fire was contained to a mattress and box spring that was in the basement," said Deputy fire Chief Brian Harrington. It was a twin-sized mattress on the floor toward the back, Lt. Tim Flynn said. There were also boilers down there and some space for storage. Flynn interviewed tenants and neighbors who said they have been concerned recently about strangers hanging around the building's parking lot. He wouldn't say more than that because the fire is still being investigated. "It's likely going to be accidental in cause," Harrington said. Ivey shook her head when learning that the evidence suggested someone was squatting in the basement. "I'm not surprised," she said. Whoever it was maybe used one of the small ground-level windows that wasn't locked, she said. The building, listed as 7 and 9 Andrew St., has six apartments. The five apartments that are occupied house seven residents. When firefighters first arrived, they thought some second-floor residents might have been trapped. "The first- and third-floor people were out here, and they weren't sure if someone else was still inside," Harrington said. The building turned out to be empty. "We always get the report that there are people trapped," Harrington said. "Nine out of 10 times, fortunately, it's not the case, but we still have to do a search and make sure." The fire didn't spread beyond the basement. The first floor suffered minor smoke damage, and the electrical wiring and gas piping will need to be repaired, Harrington said. He expected the work could displace tenants until today.
As Ivey huddled with her daughter and neighbors, her Pekingese dog, Gizmo, and Maine coon cat, Shadow, were curled together under a blanket in the back seat of a car. Ivey said she is "terrified" of fire. Her grandparents' house burned. One minute it was there, the next minute it was gone, she remembered. "I don't have much," Ivey said, "but what I have, I want to keep."
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