Firefighters pulled down a section of badly burned gable at the site of a early morning fire on Bridge Street on Wednesday. No one was injured in the fire that broke out at about 1 a.m.--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
An overnight fire on Bridge Street has put all tenants of a four-plex in hotels but wound up only gutting one unit.
Fire crews responded to the call at about 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning, finding a substantial fire climbing up the rear of the building on the 900 block of Bridge Street.
“When they arrived there was a significant fire on the deck, and that had already moved into the attic space (through the overhang),” fire investigator Carter Gramlich told the News. “Crews attacked the fire from the exterior before they could enter the building.”
All residents got out safely and a determination is still being made about the structural integrity of the complex and whether and when residents can re-enter their units.
The unit at the focus of the fire was badly damaged and has a collapsed roof. Smoke damage likely spread to other units, but they appear otherwise unscathed.
Gramlich told the News it appears the fire was contained by construction techniques required by fire code in the 2000s-era four-plex.
“There are two layers of fire-rated, five-eights (inch) drywall between units,” said Gramlich. “One (layer) was basically sacrificed, but the other held. It did its job.”
The definitive cause of the fire and an estimate on damage were still being investigated on Wednesday afternoon.
