SALEM — Firefighters think last night's blaze in a decrepit industrial complex may have been the third arson in the area just this week.
Salem Deputy fire Chief Glen Beaudet said the building at 60 Grove St. is supposed to be off-limits to firefighters because of the 10-foot holes in the floor. But firefighters decided to move in and attack a fire that spread to two floors of a century-old warehouse. Beaudet said the fire wasn't too smoky and there was enough light when the fire was called in at 7:25 p.m.
The building, which had been home to the Salem Oil & Grease Co., hasn't been used for several years. There was no electricity in the building.
"We don't know how it would have gotten started without arson," he said.
But yesterday's suspicious blaze isn't the first at the location.
"Someone lit a truck on fire, and we had a couch on fire over there," Beaudet said, gesturing first to another part of the industrial complex and then to railroad tracks.
The buildings at 60 Grove St. are connected to others, some across the North River, in Salem's Blubber Hollow district. The buildings were bought three years ago.
Beaudet said barrels of hazardous waste and asbestos have been brought out of the buildings. Last night's fire, which got to be about 4 feet wide and 10 feet high, was in a nearly empty building. Firefighters knocked down the blaze in about 25 minutes, then used a thermal-imaging camera to check for hidden hot spots.
Around 2 p.m. Tuesday, not far along the railroad tracks, firefighters found a couch burning. At 9 p.m. that night, firefighters found a 2002 Ford F-350 pickup truck next door to 60 Grove St. The disabled truck, which was in good condition, didn't have a battery and was protected behind a metal gate. It still mysteriously caught fire. Firefighters are investigating that blaze, as well.
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