Fire ravages Lawrence home
Sep. 23—LAWRENCE — Flames burst through the top floor of a Carleton Street home early Thursday morning, in a blaze that injured two people and displaced five residents.
The cause of a 3 a.m., two-alarm fire which heavily damaged a two-family home at 220 Carleton St. remains under investigation, said fire Chief Brian Moriarty.
Two people were taken by ambulance to Lawrence General Hospital, where they were treated and released. Their injuries are believed to be minor, Moriarty said.
When firefighters arrived, fire was tearing through the top floor and roof of the two-and-a-half-story building.
"When I got there, there was no top floor. ... There was a lot of fire," Moriarty said.
Due to the expanse of the blaze, firefighters could not enter the home and battled it from outside for safety reasons.
Moriarty said two neighboring homes were also damaged by the fire, although not as severely.
The fire was brought under control in about 90 minutes. However, firefighters remained on scene well into Thursday morning overhauling.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by local and state investigators.
Built in 1900, the house is currently valued at $410,000 and owned by Thomas Kobrenski, according to city assessing records.
The house was 14 rooms total, including six bedrooms, according to the records.
The city activated its "Fire Response Resource Team" in the wake of the fire to help those displaced.
The team includes Heal Lawrence, a nonprofit that helps fire victims through financial donations (heallawrence.org), and Debbie's Treasure Chest, which collects clothing and toiletries (debbiestreasurechest.org), according to information posted to social media by Mayor Kendrys Vasquez's office.
Lawrence firefighters received mutual-aid assistance from numerous area cities and towns including Andover, Methuen, Lowell, Haverhill, Dracut and North Andover.
Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill.
