UPDATE: Fire is third in Lawrence in a week

Apr. 10—LAWRENCE — A three-alarm fire that broke out early Saturday morning in a multi-family home at Osgood and Salem streets was ignited by improperly disposed cigarettes, said Fire Chief Brian Moriarty.

The fire at 30 Osgood St. broke out around 5:30 a.m. Saturday, becoming the third significant fire in the city this week. It was also the second fire this week blamed on "careless disposal of cigarettes," firefighters said.

No one was injured but four families were temporarily displaced and are being assisted by the Red Cross after the blaze, said Moriarty.

The fire appeared to have started outside but quickly leapt into the walls of the Victorian-style house built with "balloon frame construction," an older building style that allows fire to quickly spread, Moriarty said.

Moriarty said firefighters attempted an interior attack of the fire but were quickly pulled back outside.

"We had to pull everybody out. It was too dangerous," Moriarty said.

The exterior attack of the fire was bolstered by three ladder trucks, two from Lawrence and one from Lowell, and mutual-aid firefighters from Lowell, Dracut, Haverhill, Andover and Methuen, Moriarty said.

Danvers and Salem, New Hampshire, firefighters also came to the city and covered fire stations, he said.

"It was a great stop," he said, crediting Deputy Fire Chief Jack Meaney, who initially responded to the three-alarm fire, for getting "plenty of help" to Osgood Street on Saturday morning.

The house is damaged and will need roughly $200,000 in repairs but remains structurally sound, he said.

Valued at $608,100, the house has a total of 18 rooms split into five units, according to city assessing information.

The house was built in 1923 and is co-owned by Arturo Pena and Edwin Holguin, according to records.

In addition to the Red Cross, the local non-profit, Heal Lawrence, which aids fire victims, renewed it's need Saturday for gift cards for the displaced residents.

Gift cards for Heal Lawrence can be dropped off the Lawrence Senior Center at 155 Haverhill St. or mailed to Heal Lawrence, 1 Colonial Road, Lawrence, Mass., 01843.

Lawrence firefighters have been busy all week with a series of fires. On Sunday evening, the Easter holiday, a five-alarm fire ignited on Saratoga and Bennington streets leaving 16 people homeless and causing $1 million in damage. The fire was ignited by a cigarette discarded in a car port, according to investigators.

The following night, there was a two-alarm fire fire in a three-story home on the corner of Daisy and Holly streets. No injuries occurred.

Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill.