NHFD photo
The scorched back porch of 550 Ellsworth.
A single-alarm fire that started in an Ellsworth Avenue home’s back porch before jumping to the residence’s upper levels has displaced former Beaver Hill Alder Jill Marks and her family — who are now turning to the community for fundraising help.
Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Coughlin told the Independent that the fire began at around 4:35 p.m. at the single-family house at 550 Ellsworth Ave.
He said the fire started in the property’s back porch, then rose to the home’s second and third floors. City firefighters responded “quick and really aggressively,” he said, and were able to contain the fire to a single alarm.
The cause for the fire is still being investigated.
Coughlin said that one firefighter injured his back during the response, and two of the home’s residents were treated for smoke inhalation, though no one was hospitalized.
Coughlin confirmed that the family displaced by Thursday’s fire on Ellsworth Avenue was that of former Beaver Hills Alder Jill Marks. City land records show the house is owned by Lesley Mills.
Marks did not respond to a request for comment by the publication time of this article. Her daughter Scotticesa did share on Facebook a link to a GoFundMe page seeking to raise money for the displaced family.
“On May 30th, Rev. Scott Marks, alongside former Alder Jill Marks and their family, narrowly escaped a devastating fire that engulfed their home on Ellsworth Avenue,” reads that GoFundMe item, which was set up by Mareika Phillips. “The house held special significance, serving as the residence for Jill’s mother, whom she lovingly cares for, as well as a gathering place for her children and grandchildren. Fortunately, no severe injuries were reported, but the fire ravaged the interior of the house, leaving the family without many of their belongings. Now, they face the daunting task of rebuilding their lives from the ground up, with immediate expenses looming large and countless more on the horizon.”
Click here to donate to the Marks family’s GoFundMe.
From the Marks family's GoFundMe page.
Coughlin also said that, soon after 5 a.m. on Friday, firefighters responded to another intense Beaver Hills blaze, right around the corner from Ellsworth.
This second fire took place in the attic of a vacant home under renovation at 130 Colony Rd. He said there were no victims, and no injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation. City land records show the house is owned by Joshua Sandman.
NHFD photo
The early Friday fire at 130 Colony.