Fire Destroys Salem Building

UPDATE, FEB. 20: Salem Fire Marshal Jeff Emanuelson said the correct address of this fire is 82 North Policy St.

ORIGINAL STORY: Firefighters from several communities battled a fire at 70 North Policy St. in Salem late Saturday night that destroyed most of an unoccupied residential building.

Salem Fire Capt. John Brackett said no cause had been determined for the blaze, which was initially called in as an outside fire just before 11 p.m. Saturday.

The single-story, four-unit unoccupied wood frame structure was set back from North Policy Street near the entrance to Canobie Lake Park.

"The investigation is just getting underway," Brackett said. "There was still electrical power to the building but it was unoccupied, so they're pursuing that possibility at this time."

When companies arrived on scene, Brackett said there was "active electrical arcing" as well as "heavy, deep-seated fire."

A defensive attack was started by firefighters, with a working fire called at 11:10 p.m. The fire was under control shortly thereafter. Heavy smoke continued to billow from the building more than an hour later, the building heavily charred from the flame as firefighters performed overhaul.

The biggest concern of firefighters on scene was structural collapse. A ceiling collapsed and a wall had collapsed in the building, Brackett said.

"We wanted to keep people safe and make sure that they didn't get caught up in the compromised structure," Brackett said.

"The floor is all burned in so we can't put guys inside," Salem Fire Chief Kevin Breen said.

The Derry, Windham and Pelham fire departments, as well as Salem police, assisted Salem Fire on scene, with Pelham and Derry providing station coverage.