View from the building’s rear.
Authorities are seeking a “person of interest” suspected of causing a two-alarm fire and explosion Wednesday at Winthrop Avenue and Goffe Street.
The fire broke out at 4:45 p.m.
After dousing the flames, the fire department summoned an accelerant-detecting dog from the state police’s fire investigative unit. The dog “had multiple hits throughout the house” of an accelerant, according to Asisstant Fire Chief Matthew Marcarelli.
Investigators have identified a “person of interest,” he said.
The department also believes an explosion pushed out a front wall of the house, as neighbors reported. “The vapors that had built up in the building by the accelerant used to start the fire “probably caused the wall to explode, Marcarelli said.
An earlier version of this story follows:
View from the building’s rear.
A two-alarm fire ripped through a one-family home at the corner of Winthrop Avenue and Goffe Street.
The fire broke out around Wednesday around 4:45 p.m.
Firefighters got the fire out in a half hour. By then, a front wall had been pushed out by what neighbors said was an explosion.
“That’s indicative of some kind of pressure built up in the house,” Assistant Fire Chief Matthew Marcarelli said of the damage.
However, investigators didn’t know for sure whether an explosion did take place. The gas company was on scene investigating. “They said they’re going to be there the rest of the night,” Marcarelli said.
He said no one was inside the house at the time of the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. “Neighbors indicated that they heard a whooshing and a rumbling noise” and an explosion, Marcarelli reported.
The windows “are out of their normal structural line. Something was up with the framing. It was definitely pushed out,” said Battalion Chief William Gould. “The front wall was separated from the rest of the structure.”
Marcarelli said despite the flames and the pushed-out front wall, the house is salvageable: “It’s got heavy damage. But it’s not a total loss.”
It was the fifth fire in town in the last five days. Click here, and here to read about others.
The jobs these brave men and women do often is overlooked because of the negative headlines from countless lawsuits and inept city decisions regarding this department. Just know as a taxpayer I feel extremely fortunate to have them to rely on in this city. They are fearless and do superhuman work daily. Think about that the next time you trash them and look to cut down their services. Going into a home that just exploded is not on my bucket list. I don't know how they do it.