Welding error causes fire on Union Street

LYNN – A two-alarm fire ripped through Avila’s Libreria Christiana at 247 Union St. just before noon Wednesday, causing an extensive amount in damages.Lynn Fire Capt. Robert Bourke said welders from Anh Nguyen’s company Cambridge General Welding were working without proper permits and are to blame for the blaze, which tore through the walls of Avila’s and threatened Caruso’s Pizza House and an apartment building.”They had a building permit for work, but they didn’t have a cutting and welding permit,” he said. “If they had come to us, they would have had a uniform fire watch at the scene. I’m not sure how that occurred because the permit is required statewide, so they will be cited for not having the permit. Right now, I’m leaning toward non-criminal.”He said a piece of hot metal they were welding hit the wall and ignited it.Flames shot through the brick façade of Avila’s and crept up the wall as Lynn and Salem Fire responded to the scene.Marblehead, Chelsea and Wakefield supplied mutual aid.Lynn Fire District Chief Joseph Maloney said the fire department first had trouble getting people to evacuate their apartments as the fire spread, but were able to remove all of the occupants in time.”It was quite a chore to get the fire out because we had to rip all of the fake brick off the front of the building, and then the plywood because the fire was behind the wall,” he said. “It then burnt its way across the second floor and we had to rip up the flooring in one of the apartments.”Maloney said while Caruso’s building didn’t suffer any exterior damage, all of the food that was not stored in refrigerators at the time of the fire had to be thrown out because of smoke exposure.”Caruso’s called the fire in and said smoke was coming into the building which is unusual because smoke is usually pouring out of it,” he said. “Everybody was just exhausted and overheated from fighting the fire. There was a pretty significant amount of damage.”Curious onlookers gathered at the smoky scene to catch a glimpse of the action as plumes of smoke poured out of the building.Firefighters used chainsaws to cut through the exterior of the building and smashed windows to ventilate the structure.One firefighter required medical attention at the scene, where he was given oxygen and water at a cooling center. He was later transported to Union Hospital.Tony Cooper, a cook at Caruso’s on Union Street, said he was preparing food in the kitchen when he heard customers complaining about smoke inside the restaurant.”They kept asking me if I was burning food and there was smoke inside the whole pizza area of the restaurant,” he said.Mike Greene, owner of Central Sound said he smelled smoke and immediately ran out of his building.”I was told that the fire started in the basement from some people doing spot welding work,” he said. “I tried to go back in to see what was going on, but I got kicked out.”National Grid shut off power to the building and Red Cross responded to the scene.