Peabody residents displaced after blaze

PEABODY – Forty-two residents, including 10 children, were displaced after a fire swept through a Sewall Street apartment building over the weekend. The fire destroyed two units and severely damaged 18 others.Fire Chief Steven Pasdon said the fire broke out downtown at the Wallis School Apartments at 10:41 p.m. Friday. Firefighters worked through the night until 2:48 a.m. when the blaze was finally put to rest.”There’s no dollar amount of damage,” said Pasdon, adding that there was extensive interior damage from when the fire department was trying to locate the fire.The cause has yet to be determined as it is still under investigation, although Pasdon hopes to announce the fire’s origin by Thursday of this week.He said the fire didn’t spread rapidly, but rather stubbornly.”Fires on renovated buildings are always stubborn,” he said “You end up with void spaces in different areas where fire can get trapped. That was the case in this building.”The fire spread within the walls and up to the roof, making it difficult to find. The building’s brick exterior also didn’t help in that sense, said Pasdon, as there was no easy view of where the fire was going.”But, our crews did a fabulous job under Captain Joe Daly in keeping (the fire) to a minimum,” he said.No injuries were reported.What has made the process more difficult than others is the large number of illegal and foreign language speaking residents who occupied the apartments, said Peabody Emergency Management Director Christopher Tighe.”It’s not an easy conversation,” he said.Tighe has been working with residents since the night of the fire. He and his staff organized an information session at City Hall yesterday where residents could register with the American Red Cross and begin receiving assistance.”The Red Cross has been terrific,” said Tighe. “They are just the best people in the entire world, along with the Peabody Police and Fire Department.”Tighe said the Red Cross has offered to help residents with their first month’s rent at a new residence, if applicable, as well as clothing and other basic needs.The building’s management company, Wallis Associates, offered residents temporary shelter until Tuesday. Others found refuge on their own with friends or family.Tighe said the building is condemned and won’t be open for residency for at least the next four monthsPasdon said that this was the first large fire at 17 Sewall St. since he started with the Peabody Fire Department.”We’ve had a number of small fires through the years,” he said. “But nothing major.”