EAST PROVIDENCE — A two-alarm fire broke out in a home on Ivy Street in the center of the city Monday, March 9.
Several East Providence Fire Department crews descended on the scene at approximately 2:30 p.m. Personnel found the fire fully engaged throughout the three story house. Officials believed the fire had been smoldering for some time before EPFD arrived.
“We were there for a while,” said EPFD Chief Oscar Elmasian. “At one point we had to pull everyone out after the back stairway burned through.”
Firefighters were forced to tackle the blaze from the outside once the interior of the structure was deemed unstable, bringing the it under control with the use of the department’s two ladder truck. All five EPFD engines and the personnel assigned to them were on the scene, Chief Elmasian explained, because their efforts were compromised due to the amount of snow on and around the home. The snow pack also hindered ventilation.
No one was injured during the event. Taunton Avenue from the Interstate 195 off-ramp back toward Six Corners was closed to most traffic for much of the afternoon. The house is believed to have been vacant at the time. It was boarded up, according to the chief.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The structure was heavily damaged. Chief Elmasian said investigators remained on the scene as of about 6 p.m. Monday.
