SALEM — Firefighters were busy yesterday battling a pair of fires, both of which appear to be accidental, fire officials said.
The first happened in the morning at an apartment building in The Point neighborhood. The second came around noon when a fire started at a Jefferson Avenue recycling facility.
There were no injuries in either fire.
Firefighters responded to 42 Dow St. at 8:15 a.m., after a report of a small fire that started near a third-floor closet.
Two men were home at the time, sleeping, when one man woke up to the smell of smoke, Salem fire Capt. Alan Dion said.
They called 911 and alerted residents on the second and first floors, Dion said.
Police arrived at the scene and assisted in evacuating the building, which is at the corner of Prince Street.
Fire Lt. Peter Schaeublin and firefighter Steve Holzer from Engine 1 were the first firefighters at the scene. They brought a fire hose up to the apartment and doused the fire quickly.
The building is insured, but Dion did not know if the residents had renters insurance.
The third-floor apartment is not habitable, but the first- and second-floor residents were able to return once a cleaning company serviced the two units that had minor water damage.
Hours later, firefighters were out again for a fire at North Shore Recycled Fibers on a report of a truck's trailer aflame.
Just as firefighters arrived, employees at the recycling plant hooked up the trailer and managed to pull it away from the fire.
Firefighters hosed down hot spots on the trailer and then extinguished the trash fire. Firefighters doused the area for about a half-hour, Dion said.
Dion said both fires are under investigation.







