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Fire consumes house in Marblehead

By Ethan Forman
Staff writer
Published: July 10, 2009

MARBLEHEAD — A three-alarm fire destroyed a single-family, Colonial home at 6 Captains Walk Lane yesterday evening, with smoke that could be seen billowing throughout the North Shore and beyond.

No injuries were reported as of 9 p.m. last night, but fire Chief Jason Gilliland could not comment at the scene. A caretaker of the home said the owners, Richard and Christina Ronder, and their two daughters were out of town.

The home is on a small, circular street off Beacon Street on Coddon Hill in the Peaches Point area of town. The property is valued in town records at $1.56 million and the home, built in 1996, at $901,500.

The fire sent up a towering plume of black smoke that resembled a small volcanic eruption and could be seen for miles. That brought people flocking to the neighborhood from all over, creating a kind of carnival atmosphere while firefighters worked to contain the flames.

About 7:30 p.m., flames could be seen shooting out of a dormer on one side of the home.

Gilliland could be seen pulling hoses into the front door along with other firefighters. The fire consumed the garage and much of the gambrel roof and damaged the back side of the house. Windows in a side porch were smashed.

Neighbor Dan Taylor, 20, of 7 Captains Walk Lane drove by the house at 6:35, went to his home and called a friend at 6:45, then noticed the smoke at 7:02 p.m., he said, looking at those times on his cell phone.

"I was on the back porch of the house, and I saw a bunch of smoke. ... I called the Fire Department, and that was it."

He said it appeared the fire started in the garage side of the house. As he called for help, he ran to the house and knocked on the door. There was no answer, and the door was locked and the fire alarm was going off.

Taylor, a student at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, said he had to move his truck to keep embers off it. His mother, Claudette Taylor, said they used a garden hose to wet down bushes between the burning home and their property, dousing the roof of their garage, which had soot on it.

Caretaker and landscaper Thea Smith said she was called by the Fire Department to come to the house.

"They are trying to get a flight back right now," Smith said of the owners. "I called them and told them their house was on fire." She said the Ronders have lived in the house for about two years.

She noted that firefighters had trouble getting water from a hydrant at the front of the house.

"All the hoses were laid out and no water was running for what seemed like an eternity," Smith said.

Smith said the Ronders were nearly done with renovations, and she said the family may have lost "irreplaceable" belongings.

Marblehead Engine 1, Engine 2 and Ladder 1 were at the scene, along with engines from Nahant, Lynn, Salem and Beverly, Beverly Fire Rescue, and a Swampscott ladder truck.

At one point, firefighters sprayed foam on the house, and they used an aerial ladder to fight flames on the roof.

By 9 p.m., firefighters were still dousing hot spots.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.

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