WAKEFIELD — Fire investigators looking into a two-alarm blaze in a vacant commercial building at 472 Main St. on September 1 have ruled out accidental causes.
There was no power in the building so any electrical-related cause was not possible, according to fire officials. Many people had reportedly been coming in and out of the building, and there were signs of past fires being lit inside.
The cause of the fire on September 1 was likely due to human error, officials have concluded.
A labor-intensive fire fight had crews working on burning basement flooring in near blackout conditions at one point inside the structure.
According to a release posted on the town’s website, the two-alarm fire at the vacant building across the street from the Americal Civic Center took several hours to get under control.
Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Purcell said firefighters went to the scene around 4:40 a.m. after a newspaper deliverer told them of fire.
Shift Commander Captain John Walsh encountered smoke showing on arrival and called a working fire at 4:39 a.m. A second alarm was struck at 4:44 a.m. bringing mutual aid companies from Melrose, Stoneham, Reading, North Reading and Lynnfield.
First responding crews from Wakefield Engines 1, Engine 2 and Ladder 1 quickly gained access to the structure, removing boarded up windows and doors. A primary search was initiated and squatters were removed from the rear of the occupancy – the rest of the primary search proved negative.
Companies stretched initial hand-lines for fire attack and the roof was ventilated.
Purcell arrived and assumed command of the incident at 4:47 a.m. with Captain Walsh assuming fire-ground operations. Heavy smoke and heat conditions hampered fire companies from finding the fire.
The building consisted of multiple vacant storefronts, offices and storage space which were extremely cut up and dilapidated. Initial fire attack did little in the way of extinguishment as the fire was concealed. Fire crews eventually battled their way through the heat and smoke conditions to locate the seat of the fire in a sub-basement which had zero access. In order to get to the fire companies had to make multiple trench cuts through the first floor, which was several layers thick, in order to gain access to the stubborn basement fire. Once the sub-basement was accessed several heavy timber floor joists, which had been burning for several hours, were able to be completely extinguished.
Additional mutual aid pieces and firefighters from Saugus, Woburn and Wilmington were called to assist.
The heavy body of fire was knocked down at approximately 8:45 a.m. and declared under control at 9 a.m.
Extensive overhaul of the structure was conducted for several hours after the fire – including an around the clock fire watch detail. There were very minor injuries to a few firefighters reported.
Purcell stated “This was a very labor-intensive fire for the Wakefield Fire Department and surrounding mutual aid communities who assisted. This is a building in town which has remained vacant for many years and is very well known to firefighters as an extremely dangerous structure to operate at should there be a fire. The occupancy’s utilities, fire alarm and fire suppressions systems are permanently disabled. The Department was lucky that an individual delivering newspapers in the early morning hours saw the smoke and called it in – if not the fire would have consumed the entire block. The fire was well ahead of us as it was. We are fortunate to have an excellent department and an exceptional mutual aid system. I would like to thank the mutual aid crews who work tirelessly along-side the Wakefield fire companies in getting to the seat of this stubborn fire and preventing the fire from spreading to several businesses along the Main Street Block. All departments worked together to make an excellent stop.”
The investigation was handled by the Wakefield Fire Department, Wakefield Police Department and the State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit attached to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.