Fire Chief Announces Cause of Stoneham Apartment Blaze

STONEHAM, MA — A plumbing torch was ruled the culprit of a two-alarm blaze at an apartment complex on Colonial Court Friday afternoon, according to Stoneham Fire Chief Matt Grafton.

Firefighters responded at 1:04 p.m. Friday to battle the blaze, which had extended through the ceiling and into the walls above a unit in building 10 of the Colonial Court apartments. Plumbers repairing a pipe in the ceiling of Unit 75, when the torch ignited insulation, according to the Stoneham Fire Department.

Crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire, and nobody was injured as a result of the blaze.

"The fire was small in nature, but was on its way to becoming a larger fire," Grafton said in a statement. "We were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the attic and further damaging the building. Thanks to all those who were on scene."

Firefighters say the fire began in unit 75, and extended up to Unit 79. A resident of Unit 75 evacuated the apartment, and nobody was home in Unit 79.

Woburn, Melrose, Winchester, Reading and Wakefield responded to the scene. Medford and Malden fire departments covered the Stoneham station.

Image via the Stoneham Fire Department.