In the early morning hours of August 13, 2002, Danvers, Massachusetts fire
personnel were on the scene of a stubborn fire in a 30 yard dumpster packed with construction
debris. Meanwhile, an arsonist allegedly set a fire outside The Danvers Butchery
one mile away. The ignition location was both behind a fence and blocked from any
neighbor’s view by a tree line. The time of day, approximately 03:00 hours, also made it
unlikely that anyone would notice.
The fire spread on the exterior vinyl siding and wood sheathing quickly
engulfing the entire vertical surface. Soon, flames entered the interior of the 100 year old
barn. The fire was reported nearly simultaneously by a neighbor and the alarm company
which detected an interior fire. A reduced first alarm assignment arrived two minutes later
and encountered a well involved structure fire. An aggressive attack with large hand lines
knocked the fire down, and an interior attack was initiated. Due to structural concerns,
inside efforts were terminated, and an exterior attack was resumed.
Suppression crews prevented flames from entering connected parts of the
complex, but smoke and water damage was significant. Although the structural loss was
high, the aggressive attack by the Danvers Fire Department saved a large volume of
inventory as well as a large percentage of the equipment and fixtures within the building.
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