Published in the February 23, 2016 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Quick action by first arriving Wakefield firefighters prevented yesterday’s fire at the Lakeside Inn on North Avenue from being much worse than it was, according to Fire Chief Michael Sullivan.
Sullivan said that the first automatic alarm came in at 9:50 a.m. As fire apparatus was en route to the blaze, multiple smoke detector alarms were also received at fire headquarters, followed quickly by a 911 call from hotel staff.
Sullivan said that on arrival Fire Capt. Paul Pronco observed heavy smoke coming from the first floor of the hotel’s south wing. He was informed that a plumbing contractor installing sinks on the first floor had accidentally ignited some insulation material in a wall space which in turn ignited some wood construction in the wall. The fire quickly moved through the walls up to the room directly above it on the second floor as well as to adjoining rooms on both floors.
Sullivan said that firefighters were able to get hose lines into the first and second floor rooms just as the fire was reaching an inaccessible attic that runs the length of the building. Had the fire not been stopped at that point and gotten into the attic, Sullivan said, it would have been a much bigger fire.
“We were fortunate to be able to stop it when we did,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said that Capt. Pronco sounded a second alarm upon arriving at the scene. Reading, Stoneham, Melrose and North Reading all sent engines or ladder trucks to the fire. Lynnfield, Woburn and Saugus fire crews covered the Wakefield Fire Station.
Due to the volume of smoke, Sullivan said, firefighters had to open the roof of the hotel. That proved challenging, Sullivan said, as there was cement board in the roof decking.
Sullivan said that a plumbing contractor out of Billerica accidentally started the fire. He said that it was a plumber working on the second floor who noticed the fire and ran down to alert the plumber on the first floor. According to Sullivan, the plumber on the first floor then tried to open the wall and put the fire out and sustained second-degree burns on eight of his fingers. He was taken to Mass. General Hospital and later released.
Sullivan said that the injury to the plumber was the only injury that resulted from the fire. No firefighters, hotel employees or guests were injured, he said. That was fortunate, he added, because the hotel was occupied at the time of the fire. He said most hotel guests and staff did leave the building immediately when fire alarms went off but a few guests were still in their rooms when firefighters arrived. They were safely escorted out of the building.
The “all-out” was sounded at 12:12 p.m., Sullivan said.
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While Wakefield firefighters were at the Lakeside Inn fire, a call came in at 11:10 a.m. for a smoke condition at a home on Layton Avenue. Wakefield Engine 4 as well as mutual aid crews from Lynnfield, Saugus and Woburn responded to the home. It was determined that the cause was careless disposal of smoking materials, which had caused some nearby materials to smolder, leading to the smoke condition in the house.
