Group homes repeat their tragic story
DEPARTMENTS
Dispatches
photo by Bob Battis
Shortly after 4 a.m. on July 4, 1984, an alarm was received by the Beverly, MA, Fire Department for a structural fire in a three-story balloon frame, stores/residence. The building, because of its construction and type of occupants, had been a major concern of fire officials for quite some time. This type of occupancy is becoming more and more familiar to us in the fire service— the Beverly Fire Department was faced with a “group home” fire (see FIRE ENGINEERING, June 1984).
On arrival, the fire was located in the entrance to the residence portion of the structure, and was in complete possession of the interior stairs. The fire rapidly extended throughout the second and third floors by means of the open stairway to long hallways connecting the 32 rented rooms. By the best records available, there were 36 occupants within the building’s second and third floors at the time of the fire.
Several civilians had already jumped (one to his death) and persons were seen calling for help at many windows. Beverly fire units were on the scene two minutes after the transmission of the initial alarm and immediately summoned additional help by the simultaneous transmissions of a second and third alarm by Deputy Chief Kenneth Pelonzi (now chief of department). Efforts were concentrated on reaching the known trapped life hazards visible at various windows of the building. Nine persons were removed from the exterior by firefighters. According to reports, Firefighter Richard Conrad, one of the first firefighters to reach the scene, said, “There were more people hanging out (the windows) but they didn’t wait. They ran back into the building. We were talking to them and they panicked.”
The fire spread rapidly from the point of origin, throughout both public halls to the north side of the building. In a short time, the fire crossed the hall to consume the south side also. The top floor became fully involved. The heavily taxed firefighters continued to raise ladders, enter, and attempt to locate the remaining civilians. All attempts at making an interior attack were halted by the intense fire condition. An attempt was then made to try and cut off the extending fire with elevated streams.
Newspaper accounts reported that firefighters said many of those that died would have been saved if they had not panicked and ran further into the bowels of the structure. Calling to occupants to stay where they were, firefighters quickly placed and climbed portable ladders only to find empty smoke-filled rooms cut off from other areas by fire in the public hall.
Only after the fire was brought under control were the firefighters able to enter the remains of the three-story structure to remove those civilians who were unaccounted for. In total, 13 victims, unable to escape the holocaust, were located and removed by the firefighters.
Because of the rapid involvement of the stair shaft and access hallways on arrival of the fire forces, the fire was declared suspicious. Later, it was determined to be arson when physical evidence was found at the base of the stairs to the second floor. At presstime, the incident was under investigation. — FE
photo by Bob Baft
photo by Bob Baths
photo by Joe Palamara