For Immediate Release

Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 781-533-9398
Email: john@jgpr.net

Stoneham Fire Department Battles 2-Alarm House, Vehicle Fire

Resident, Two Firefighters Hurt

STONEHAM — Fire Chief Matthew Grafton reports that the Stoneham Fire Department battled a wind-swept fire that began outdoors and spread to multiple vehicles before catching the rear of a house.

Stoneham Fire units were dispatched to 154 North St. shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday. The first arriving units saw heavy flames and immediately struck a second alarm, bringing additional resources to the scene on the cold, windy day.

A preliminary investigation indicates that an unattended outdoor fire spread to three golf carts located on the property. The fire spread to a motor vehicle, destroying the vehicle, before catching the rear of the house and spreading inward.

The fire was made more complicated by propane cylinders exploding from the golf carts and a magnesium fire from the engine block of the motor vehicle that caught fire. Also, the fire destroyed the primary electrical service connection to the house, causing live wires to fall on the scene. It took two hours to bring the fire under control.

“The wind certainly made this fire more difficult to battle today,” Chief Grafton said. “Thankfully we have an excellent mutual aid system, and we were able to bring the proper resources to bear on the fire.”

Fire units from Woburn, Melrose, Wakefield, Reading, Saugus, and Winchester assisted Stoneham at the scene while units from Malden and Medford covered the Town of Stoneham during the incident.

One resident was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. A Stoneham firefighter was treated and released at an area hospital for a chest injury, and a Reading firefighter was treated at the scene for a minor injury.

Chief Grafton estimated the total damage at about $200,000.

The fire is under investigation by the Stoneham Fire Department.