SWAMPSCOTT — A fund is being set up by relatives of the Ghirardinis, the family of six who lost their home at 50 Andrew Road Thursday morning in a three-alarm fire.
Laura Demartino, sister of homeowner Peter Ghirardini, set up a fund Friday at the Salem Five Bank branch on Paradise Road, where anyone who wishes can mail or drop off monetary donations. Demartino said she set up the fund “to help with all of their needs – anything insurance doesn’t cover – and to rebuild what they’ve lost.”
Demartino said she spoke to the family Friday afternoon.
“They’re doing as expected,” she said. “They’re just trying to find a place to live right now.”
Demartino added that the death of the family’s Labradoodle, Bryce, “was probably one of the hardest things for the kids.” The Ghirardini family includes four children – an 8-year-old boy, 10-year-old twin girls and a 12-year-old girl. Firefighters were able to recover the family’s pet rabbits, but the pet cat remains missing.
Nahant, Revere, Lynn, Salem, Beverly, Marblehead and Swampscott fire departments responded to the fire that was called in around 9 a.m. Firefighters battled the freezing temperatures and the complications that arose as the first hydrant tried was frozen and a second had low water pressure. The flames were finally extinguished at around noon. No one was hurt in the fire except one Swampscott firefighter, who suffered a minor hand injury.
Damage to the home was estimated to be $250,000 to $300,000 by Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan.
“The entire house is damaged,” Swampscott Fire Captain Kevin Thompson said Thursday. “There’s a large hole in the roof, and a lot of areas inside the house are burned out. Those that weren’t burned out sustained a lot of water damage.”
When asked if the home could be saved on Thursday at the scene, Deputy Chief Jim Potts paused, glanced at the home engulfed in flames and black smoke and said, “Carpenters can do some amazing things.”
The fire was deemed accidental by the State Fire Marshal Thursday afternoon after investigators found the stove to be the cause, though it isn’t known whether the family left the stove on or if the dog turned it on while “counter surfing.”
Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].
HOW TO HELP
A fund has been established to aid the Ghirardini family of Swampscott, who were burned out of their house on Thursday. To help, make checks payable to:
Ghiraradini Family Fund
c/o Salem Five Bank
450 Paradise Road
Swampscott, MA 01907.
