Nathan Janette sent in these pictures of firefighters battling a house fire midday Wednesday in the Dwight neighborhood.
The fire broke out around 12:30 p.m. at 358 Orchard, a residential building with multiple apartments. Five fire trucks, plus support vehicles, responded to the blaze.
The fire caused no injuries. It was mainly on the second floor of the building. The damage to the house was “moderate,” said Capt. Thomas Quinn of the fire department. Firefighters put the fire out in 20 minutes.
Five adults and five children live in the building, said Assistant Fire Chief Ralph Black. They’re being put up by the Red Cross until the property is ready for occupation again. There was smoke and water damage to the house, as well as damage to the walls and roof of the house caused by firefighters “venting” the fire.
As of 4 p.m. the cause of the fire was still under investigation. Black said that investigators were “leaning towards” some kind of cooking accident as the cause.
No Parking
While notifying a man that his car was parked illegally, police discovered 21 packets of crack cocaine.
Here’s what happened according to Lt. Jeff Hoffman:
At 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Officers John Kaczor and Dave Totino noticed a car on Fairmont Ave near Fulton Street parked in front of a “No Parking” sign. When they stopped to talk to the driver, a 54-year-old man, the officers noticed a sandwich bag of marijuana coming out of his sleeve. They arrested the man and found he was holding 21 packets of crack cocaine. Cops charged the man with several narcotics violations.
In other drug crime news, according to Hoffman, police interrupted a crack deal at the corner of Farren and Fairmont Avenues on Saturday and arrested two men.