ESSEX — Firefighters squelched an Eastern Avenue fire in about ten minutes Friday, quickly enough to prevent the flames from destroying anything more than the home’s attic, according to Fire Chief Daniel Doucette.
The fire occurred in a recently purchased house at 153 Eastern Avenue about 1 p.m. Friday. Officials said an electrical spark in existing wires above the kitchen ceiling ignited, and the resulting fire burned mostly in the attic directly above the kitchen.
Painters, working on the outside of the house, noticed the smoke pluming from the attic and alerted firefighters and police, Doucette said.
The unoccupied house, undergoing renovations and electrical work, suffered some water damage to the floor below the attic, according to the chief.
Manchester firefighters aided Essex at the scene and the Hamilton Fire Department provided station coverage.
Doucette said Deputy Chief Ramie Reader led the fire team at the scene.
A single-vehicle crash Thursday afternoon sent the driver to the hospital and shut down part of John Wise Avenue until nearly 2 a.m. Friday.
The driver and lone occupant, an 82-year-old Ipswich man, was responsive, but had visible injuries, when emergency personnel arrived. Fire Department Rescue transported the man to Beverly Hospital for treatment after the 2:14 p.m. accident.
Police said it is unclear what caused the Toyota Camry to leave the roadway, but the car struck a utility pole, cracking it and causing wires to fall over both lanes. Traffic was completely shut down on the road until 6:10 p.m., when National Grid arrived and cleared and opened one lane of the roadway, police said.
Fire apparatus stayed at the scene until National Grid removed the hazards, with the road not completely cleared until about 2 a.m., according to police.
The weather was clear at the time of the crash, and police are not considering speed as a factor, police said.
A motorcyclist was transported to Beverly Hospital and his heavily damaged motorcycle was towed Thursday.
The motorcyclist crashed his bike into a stone wall on Story Street about 3:08 p.m., according to police.
Essex Fire Rescue reported that the man’s injuries were minor; police said the man had some road rash.
Police said the man told officers that some debris had flown up from the road and hit his face, and by the time he cleared his vision, his motorcycle was already off the road.
Police sent an animal control officer to a Pond Street residence after receiving a report of a bat in the residence’s bathroom Thursday about 1:54 p.m. The was no report filed at presstime on what happened to the bat.
Marjorie Nesin can be reached at 978-283-7000 x3451, or mnesin@gloucestertimes.com.
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