Nasty fire sets off fear and wonder in lower Broadway industrial district

DECEMBER 8: A raging four-alarm fire at the Schnitzer Recycling plant on Rover Street was contained after several hours. (Photo by Jim Mahoney)

Disaster potential highlighted by blaze

By Josh Resnek

A smoky fire at the Schnitzer recycling facility on Rover Street caused more concern than damage. No injuries were reported in the fire which began shortly after 8:00 a.m. and was put out by 10:30 a.m.

The menacing plume of black smoke rising from an enclosed steel crusher on the sprawling property that abuts the LNG facility was visible for miles.

The smoke was worse than the fire itself.

Early concerns that the fire could have caused a conflagration have been eased by the fact the fire was put out so quickly, and could not and did not spread.

The Everett Fire Department was on the scene within minutes of the first alarm being run.

However the EFD at present has severe apparatus limitations and a shortage of firefighters.

During the recent mayoral campaign, Councilor Fred Capone argued that a new fire station and new fire apparatus as well as additional firefighters are needed to meet the demands of the city’s future and should have been part of Encore’s lower Broadway investment package.

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The Madison Street Tragedy

The death on Madison Street last week of two women trapped on the second floor of a raging inferno during a three alarm fire that consumed the multifamily structure should be a reminder to us all about how fragile our safety is in our homes.

This Madison Street structure was eaten alive by the fire in a matter of minutes.

Wooden homes especially, and multi-families in particular, can go up in flames in an instant, trapping residents inside with circumstances such that firefighters arriving minutes later cannot penetrate the flames, the severe heat and the thick smoke.

This is exactly what happened last week when Everett firefighters arriving on the scene made heroic efforts to gain entry to the second floor.

According to firefighters, the fire was bad enough but that the rooms and hallways crowded with furniture and clothes and piles of bric a brac made maneuvering inside an impossibility.

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Fire Claims 2 Lives on Madison Avenue

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By Josh Resnek

A fast spreading three alarm fire that engulfed a multi-family home on Madison Avenue Sunday night has claimed two lives.

Fire authorities say the fire may have started on the second floor, which is where two women who died had apparently been living.

Residents on the third floor interviewed by authorities said they heard an explosion that was followed swiftly by massive flames and thick smoke.

They told officials they felt lucky to escape and that it was a split second of time that was the difference between life and death for them.

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Fire Causes Significant Damage to a 2-Family on Hillside Avenue

By Joshua Resnek

A fire caused at least $150,000 in damages to a Hillside Avenue two family home Monday afternoon.

A half dozen pieces of fire apparatus from Everett and Boston responded.

The fire was contained to the third floor loft area where heavy smoke and flames were met with firefighters first efforts when arriving at the scene.

Under the command of Deputy Chief Michael Ragucci, firefighters were able to beat down the flames and entered the home searching for possible victims.

According to the mayor’s office, six people were displaced.

The mayor’s office is providing support for those driven from the home by the fire.

January 11, 2018_Fire 1January 11, 2018_Fire 2