Smoke Alarms Wake Up Residents at East Providence Fire

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI—Crews responded to a fire that displaced two residents on Blanding Street in East Providence close to 1 a.m. early Saturday morning.

East Providence firefighters arrived and found fire in the rear of the two-and-a-half story house at 81 Blanding Street, a single-family 1,212 square foot Dutch colonial originally built in 1925, according to city property records.

Firefighters had the fire under control in under 30 minutes.

The city's Fire Marshal Kenneth Botelho told the Providence Journal that the fire started on a stovetop after a lit burner was left unattended.

Smoke alarms in the house woke up the two residents, preventing tragedy.

The house suffered fire, smoke and water damage, authorities said.

Photo: Everett Trainer