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Posted by: DeputyFife

Published: 01/02/2008
Fires destroy homes in Byfield, Merrimac

A home at 58 Fruit St. in Byfield was destroyed by a fire on New Year's Eve. Katie McMahon/Staff Photo
By Dan Atkinson
Staff Writer

Fires gutted homes in Byfield and Merrimac over the holiday, but no one was injured during either fire.
The first fire started about 11:30 p.m. New Year's Eve at 58 Fruit St. in Byfield, a Byfield Fire Department official said. The owners were hosting a New Year's party, said neighbor Linda Lynch, who was at a party in Amesbury but returned home to help once she heard about the fire.
"Guests were standing outside with just socks on, so I brought them some shoes and jackets," Lynch said.
Firefighters from Byfield, Georgetown and Rowley worked until 4 a.m. putting out the fire, Lynch said, but the house was engulfed when they arrived and damaged beyond repair, completely blackened with its roof entirely caved in. Lynch said the house's owners, Kevin and Pamela King, had been improving the house since they bought it 16 years ago.
"They worked on that house every day," she said.
Lynch said she heard the fire started because of electrical reasons, and the state Fire Marshal is still investigating, according to the Byfield Fire Department.
Sixteen-year-old Ricky Pechner, who lives next to the King house, said he heard several loud bangs and saw fireworks in the area shortly before the fire.
"I heard fireworks from behind the house, and 15 minutes later saw the whole house going up in flames," Pechner said. "(The fireworks) were big ones, shooting straight up in the air." Newbury police did not receive any reports of fireworks, according to the police log.
The Merrimac house, at 21 Winter St., caught fire about 6 a.m. yesterday, according to Merrimac police Sgt. Eric Shears. He said smoke detectors woke up the two residents, who saw a furniture fire that had spread to the ceiling. The two, whom police declined to identify, managed to drive their cars out of the garage but lost everything else, Shears said.
"They were very lucky to make out with their lives," he said.
Merrimac firefighters were first on the scene but had to call for other tankers when the first fire hydrant they tapped was frozen, Shears said. Kingston, N.H.; Plaistow, N.H.; and West Newbury sent tankers, and West Newbury, Amesbury and Newton, N.H., sent engines.
"The Fire Department did really, really well," Shears said. "The first hydrant was frozen, but they immediately handled the call for other tankers and hooked into another hydrant before they got there."

The firefighters also had to deal with the house's electric lines melting off the house and landing on their truck, Shears said, but no one was injured. However, the house was ruined, with the rear receiving the most damage, and it is currently boarded up. Shears said firefighters finally cleared the scene at 2 p.m., and Merrimac and the state Fire Marshal are investigating the fire's cause.
"Right now, it's unknown but not suspicious," Shears said. "But the house is a complete loss ... The fire spread through the house very, very quickly."

Published: 01/03/2008
'I just looked up and everything was blazing'
By Katie Curley
Staff Writer



MERRIMAC - Jim Donovan thought he was having a bad dream Tuesday morning when smoke detectors sounded in his two-story home on Winter Street.
"It was one of those things. You hear the sounds but don't believe it and think it's a dream," Donovan said. But soon Donovan realized it was reality as he jumped out of bed and raced out into the freezing air in his bare feet. Behind him his furniture, walls and ceilings were on fire.
Yesterday he stood outside the home he had owned for 37 years, staring up at the charred exterior, the smell of burnt embers still hovering over the street.
The 21 Winter St. residence owned by Donovan and Joseph Cross caught fire a little after 6 a.m. on New Year's Day, according to Merrimac police. The two drove their cars out of the garage but lost everything else.
"I just looked up and everything was blazing," Donovan said. "This is devastating. I don't even have my wallet or cell phone."
Merrimac firefighters were first on the scene, but the struggle to put the fire out was complicated by frozen hydrants and downed power lines, Donovan said.
Kingston, N.H., Plaistow, N.H., and West Newbury sent tankers, and West Newbury, Amesbury and Newton, N.H., sent engines.
The electrical lines melted off the house and landed on the firetrucks, further hindering the effort, Merrimac police Sgt. Eric Shears said. "The hydrants and electrical lines gave the house time to burn," Donovan said. "We are lucky to just be alive."
The community has stepped forward to offer its support. The two are staying across the street at a neighbor's house, and other community members as well as the Pilgrim Congregational Church have donated clothing.
"We need to start planning for what's next," Donovan said. "But I just don't know." Donovan is retired and disabled, while Cross owns his own business.
"We just put a new roof on, and they said it was guaranteed for 50 years. I guess we will see. Time to test that," Donovan said, laughing amid tears. "I want to just cry, but I'm the type of person to move forward."
Donovan said the loss of the home has more significance because it happened around the holidays. Donovan and Cross have spent most holidays in the home with family. This year, they celebrated a Thanksgiving feast there but had spent the past week in Florida visiting family.

"We are used to charity around Christmas, but going into the new year it's miraculous," Donovan said. "I'm so blessed I live in a small community where everyone cares and helps when you are down and out."
Yesterday deputy chiefs at the Merrimac fire station confirmed the fire is still under investigation but not suspicious.

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Posted by: DeputyFife

Published: 01/08/2008
Fireworks blamed in Byfield fire
By Dan Atkinson
Staff Writer



BYFIELD - Illegal fireworks caused a blaze that destroyed a Fruit Street house on New Year's Eve, according to the State Fire Marshal's Office.
Investigators determined the cause based on interviews with witnesses and forensic examination of the fire, fire marshal's spokeswoman Jen Mieth said. The fireworks were class C or "consumer" fireworks, which are legal in some states but banned in Massachusetts. Class C fireworks include devices like spinners and party wheels.
"All fireworks not used by a licensed and permitted technician are illegal in Massachusetts," Mieth said.
Newbury police said they had not filed charges against anyone for possession of fireworks, which carries a potential penalty of a $100 fine.
The fire at 58 Fruit St. started about 11:30 p.m. during a New Year's Eve party. Firefighters worked until 4 a.m. to extinguish the fire but were unable to save the house, which was burned throughout and had its roof collapse.
Ricky Pechner, who lives next to 58 Fruit St., told The Daily News that he heard several loud bangs before the fire started and thought fireworks were the cause after seeing flashes near the house.
"I heard fireworks from behind the house, and 15 minutes later saw the whole house going up in flames," Pechner said. "(The fireworks) were big ones, shooting straight up in the air."
It's unclear whether damage done by illegal fireworks is covered by homeowners' insurance policies. In states where fireworks are illegal, the conditions stated in the individual policy governs whether the home is covered. According to the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs, a home insurance policy may be canceled if a homeowner is convicted of illegally storing fireworks. The fire marshal also determined the cause of the Merrimac fire that took place six hours after the Byfield blaze, Mieth said. An electrical cord pinched under an entertainment center tore and started a fire that destroyed the Winter Street house.
"A pinched cord can cause a break or tear in wire insulation," Mieth said. "Heat then escapes the insulation and heats whatever it comes in contact with."

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Posted by: DeputyFife

Published: 01/08/2008
Fireworks blamed in Byfield fire
By Dan Atkinson
Staff Writer



BYFIELD - Illegal fireworks caused a blaze that destroyed a Fruit Street house on New Year's Eve, according to the State Fire Marshal's Office.
Investigators determined the cause based on interviews with witnesses and forensic examination of the fire, fire marshal's spokeswoman Jen Mieth said. The fireworks were class C or "consumer" fireworks, which are legal in some states but banned in Massachusetts. Class C fireworks include devices like spinners and party wheels.
"All fireworks not used by a licensed and permitted technician are illegal in Massachusetts," Mieth said.
Newbury police said they had not filed charges against anyone for possession of fireworks, which carries a potential penalty of a $100 fine.
The fire at 58 Fruit St. started about 11:30 p.m. during a New Year's Eve party. Firefighters worked until 4 a.m. to extinguish the fire but were unable to save the house, which was burned throughout and had its roof collapse.
Ricky Pechner, who lives next to 58 Fruit St., told The Daily News that he heard several loud bangs before the fire started and thought fireworks were the cause after seeing flashes near the house.
"I heard fireworks from behind the house, and 15 minutes later saw the whole house going up in flames," Pechner said. "(The fireworks) were big ones, shooting straight up in the air."
It's unclear whether damage done by illegal fireworks is covered by homeowners' insurance policies. In states where fireworks are illegal, the conditions stated in the individual policy governs whether the home is covered. According to the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs, a home insurance policy may be canceled if a homeowner is convicted of illegally storing fireworks. The fire marshal also determined the cause of the Merrimac fire that took place six hours after the Byfield blaze, Mieth said. An electrical cord pinched under an entertainment center tore and started a fire that destroyed the Winter Street house.
"A pinched cord can cause a break or tear in wire insulation," Mieth said. "Heat then escapes the insulation and heats whatever it comes in contact with."

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