Somerville District Fire Chief Alerts Homeowners To Porch Fire

SOMERVILLE, MA – Just another day at the office for Robert McCarthy. The district fire chief was filling out paperwork Saturday at the Highland Avenue fire station when he smelled smoke around 9:30 a.m. and went outside to investigate.

McCarthy spotted smoke coming from the third floor of a wooden porch on the 200 block of Highland Avenue and alerted the resident of the home, Deputy Fire Chief Charles Breen said. He and other firefighters were quickly able to contain the blaze, which had set fire to several items on the porch.

Investigators believe the cause of the fire was sunlight reflecting off a metal bowl and igniting flammable materials stored on the porch. There was no damage to the structure, but Breen said McCarthy's actions prevented "what could have been a serious fire."

Image via SFD