BEVERLY - Fire officials are investigating whether a grill on a third-floor balcony caused the fire that forced the evacuation of all 50 or so residents from the Cherry Hill condominium building Thursday night.
Beverly fire Capt. Peter O'Connor said yesterday the cause of the fire has not been determined. But he said investigators from the Beverly Fire Department and the state fire marshal's office are trying to confirm reports by some residents that the fire started in a grill on an outdoor balcony.
"That's definitely part of the investigation," O'Connor said.
None of the residents of the 35 condo units had been allowed back in the building as of yesterday. The three-alarm fire raced through an attic along the length of the long building's roof, essentially destroying the entire roof, O'Connor said. The fire also gutted the third-floor balcony where it likely started, as well as the balcony just above.
Many of the condos on the lower floors of the five-story building had water damage. The building is located on Duck Pond Road, between the Folly Hill and Apple Village apartment complexes, behind the former King's Grant Inn off Route 128 north.
O'Connor said the building was equipped with an alarm that automatically notified the Fire Department at 7:08 p.m. But he said the fire didn't immediately set off the alarms because it first progressed into the attic that runs the length of the building, a space that is not equipped with alarms.
Yesterday, residents of the condo gathered outside the building to survey the damage and see if they could retrieve their belongings. Dave Provost, who lives in the condo unit next door to where the fire likely began, recalled how he first saw smoke, then smelled an odor "like somebody was grilling."
"Then we heard some hissing in the walls. That's when we bolted," said Provost, who lives with his wife, Lynne.
Residents were not allowed to go back into the building because firefighters were still working to contain hot spots. A firefighter retrieved a soaked laptop computer for the Provosts. When asked what she lost in the condo, where she has lived for 16 years, Lynne Provost said, "Everything."
Not everything was lost for all residents, however. Barbara Hanifan was relieved when a firefighter went back into her condo yesterday and found her two cats, Toonces and Jezzabelle, hiding under her bed.
Beverly fire Capt. Peter O'Connor said yesterday the cause of the fire has not been determined. But he said investigators from the Beverly Fire Department and the state fire marshal's office are trying to confirm reports by some residents that the fire started in a grill on an outdoor balcony.
"That's definitely part of the investigation," O'Connor said.
None of the residents of the 35 condo units had been allowed back in the building as of yesterday. The three-alarm fire raced through an attic along the length of the long building's roof, essentially destroying the entire roof, O'Connor said. The fire also gutted the third-floor balcony where it likely started, as well as the balcony just above.
Many of the condos on the lower floors of the five-story building had water damage. The building is located on Duck Pond Road, between the Folly Hill and Apple Village apartment complexes, behind the former King's Grant Inn off Route 128 north.
O'Connor said the building was equipped with an alarm that automatically notified the Fire Department at 7:08 p.m. But he said the fire didn't immediately set off the alarms because it first progressed into the attic that runs the length of the building, a space that is not equipped with alarms.
Yesterday, residents of the condo gathered outside the building to survey the damage and see if they could retrieve their belongings. Dave Provost, who lives in the condo unit next door to where the fire likely began, recalled how he first saw smoke, then smelled an odor "like somebody was grilling."
"Then we heard some hissing in the walls. That's when we bolted," said Provost, who lives with his wife, Lynne.
Residents were not allowed to go back into the building because firefighters were still working to contain hot spots. A firefighter retrieved a soaked laptop computer for the Provosts. When asked what she lost in the condo, where she has lived for 16 years, Lynne Provost said, "Everything."
Not everything was lost for all residents, however. Barbara Hanifan was relieved when a firefighter went back into her condo yesterday and found her two cats, Toonces and Jezzabelle, hiding under her bed.
The cats were both soaked with water but otherwise unharmed. Hanifan said she had tried to run back into her condo during the fire to save them, but other residents yelled at her to get out. She spent the night at her sister's house in Beverly not knowing if her cats had survived.
"I didn't sleep," she said.
Vita Groysman, who lives in the condo right below the one where the fire likely started, said her husband, Andrey, looked up at the balcony over their heads and "there was all flames." The couple and their 5-year-old son, Daniel, ran out of the building in their slippers.
"I'm just glad it didn't happen in the middle of the night when we were sleeping," she said.
The local chapter of the American Red Cross is helping residents find a place to stay and providing money for food and clothing, Executive Director Elizabeth Macomber said. Donations to help the residents can be sent to American Red Cross, 100 Cummings Center, Suite 270F, Beverly, MA, 01915, or by calling 978-922-2224 or visiting northeastmassredcross.org.
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