The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A cooking fire was probably at the root of a blaze that gutted the second storey and attic of a North Avenue home Friday morning. A passerby reported the fire at 6:22 a.m., with the blaze having already begun to spread to the attic. "The whole upstairs was in flames," said Fire Chief Jim Petrie. An occupant of the building attempted to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived, sustaining minor burns in the process, Petrie said. There were no other injuries. Seventeen firefighters responded to the call, spending four hours dousing the blaze and ensuring they had snuffed out any hot spots. The crew placed tarps over the items in the bottom floor, preserving them from water damage. Petrie said he does not believe the building is salvageable. The fire chief's investigation determined that the likely cause of the blaze was a cooking fire. Coincidentally, a cooking fire struck a home next door on Callinan Street last summer.
