THIS SIX-UNIT residential building at the corner of Water Street and Columbia Road was the scene of a fatal fire overnight. (Keith M. Curtis Photo)
Published in the September 5, 2017 edition.
WAKEFIELD — A 71-year-old woman lost her life in a late night, two-alarm fire Monday at the corner of Water Street and Columbia Road.
The fire began in the woman’s second floor apartment. Her name was not released this morning.
At 11:34 p.m. crews answered a structure fire call at 123-125 Water St. and 4 Columbia Rd., a six unit apartment complex. In addition to the fire alarm system activation inside the building, the department also received several 911 calls, according to Fire Chief Michael Sullivan.
When firefighters arrived, there was fire showing from the left rear corner unit on the second floor. The full shift quickly sprang into action, with the ladder company putting both a ground ladder and the aerial ladder to the roof to open it up. They did so right over the fire, and were able to get a lot of water on it. A line was also run from outside up a flight of stairs to attack the flames.
The victim’s body was found soon after crews began the fire fight. She was disabled, a fire official reported.
Seven people were displaced by the fire, with the most significant damage done at 4 Columbia Rd., unit 2, the apartment where the blaze began. That damage included a collapsed ceiling.
The fire alarm system inside the building was working and played a role in alerting the other occupants of the fire.
Sullivan credited his men with knocking the fire down as quickly as they did. “Having a full shift really helped,” Sullivan said. “The extra men allowed us to do a number of things simultaneously that we could not have if there was a skeleton crew.”
A second alarm was struck which brought additional crews in to help. Engines from Melrose, Stoneham and Reading and the North Reading ladder truck went to the fire scene. A Woburn engine and a Lynnfield ladder covered the town’s fire stations.
Because there was a life lost, the state Fire Marshal’s office was called in. Local police and fire investigators also worked in the aftermath of the fire and determined it to be accidental, with a probability that careless smoking in bed was the cause.
