LYNN — A late night fire Thursday damaged a single-family home on Essex Street.
The fire started in the rear of a shed adjacent to the Ranch-style home and quickly spread to the house and the dwelling next door, according to William Murray, deputy fire chief.
It appeared as many as eight people were living in the house, he said. No one was injured.
Lynn Police Lieutenant Michael Kmiec said police have been called to the four-room house at least four times last year for drug overdoses and trespassing.
Clint Muche, the city’s deputy building commissioner, said inspectors have visited the property over complaints of trash several times last year.
Last October, the property was registered with the city as bank-owned, having been through the foreclosure process.
It’s unclear who is living in the property, squatters or hold-over tenants, Muche said.
The two-bedroom Ranch-style home is owned by Simoa Melo and Maria Sequeira who paid $105,000 for the home in 2000, according to county records.
The couple could not be reached for comment.
