Tenants escape Lawrence fire unharmed

By Mark E. Vogler
mvogler@eagletribune.com

September 28, 2008 02:14 am

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LAWRENCE — Firefighters worked quickly to knock down a three-alarm blaze in a Perry Avenue home last night.

Fire Chief Peter Takvorian said every available firefighter and truck in the city was used to save the two-story home at 28-30 Perry Ave., near the Methuen line.

The first call came in shortly before 8:30 p.m., and firefighters had the fire under control within a half hour. They rang a third alarm at 9:16 to bring in backup from surrounding communities. Andover, Lowell, Methuen and North Andover firefighters were all called in to provide coverage for the city.

Nine tenants were temporarily displaced by the fire and will have to find alternate housing until the building is habitable again.

Deputy fire Chief Brian Murphy estimated the damage at about $125,000.

"There's some structural damage to the porch, the front of the second floor, the attic and the roof," he said. "But the building is absolutely salvageable. It will require some work though."

Homeowner Ironelis Galvez, who lives on the first floor, said she was watching television with her husband, Hector, and three daughters when a next-door neighbor knocked on the door to let her know the house was on fire.

"Thank God we came out alive," Ironelis said as she stood in front of her heavily damaged house last night. "If the neighbor didn't knock on the door, God knows what would have happened."

Fire investigators were still at the scene last night investigating the cause of the fire, which officials said started on the second floor.

"The front porch on the second floor was totally engulfed in flames and was spreading into the attic when we arrived," Takvorian said. "We had a lot of heat and heavy smoke to contend with. We had to punch some holes in the roof to vent and release some of the built-up heat and smoke. It was a pretty good knockdown."

A crew from the American Red Cross of the Merrimack Valley was at the scene last night assisting tenants of the home.

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