Smoky blaze destroys vacant Lynn building

LYNN – A fire destroyed a vacant home in downtown Lynn on Tuesday evening, sending plumes of smoke into the sky and preventing some Lynners from entering nearby homes.Lynn Fire Chief Dennis Carmody said fire crews got the report of a fire in a home on Pinkham Place at about 6 p.m. Tuesday. He said crews arrived to find the entire back of a two-and-a-half-story home on the small street in flames.Firefighters smashed through the windows on the first and second floors, and spent about 30 minutes inside extinguishing the fire, Carmody said.Heavy smoke persisted for 45 minutes, covering much of Pinkham Place, and intersecting Pinkham Street in a thick cloud of gray that ebbed and flowed with the wind.Lynn Police blocked off Pinkham Street from Union Street, denying at least two residents of Pinkham Place entry into their homes.Carmody said smoke singed the walls of a neighboring home, and the fire and smoke damaged much of the vacant home.”We had a lot of heat,” he said.As the smoke died down, Carmody said fire investigation crews began their investigation into the fire’s cause.Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected].