LYNN — Six people were displaced after a suspected electrical fire broke out in a three-story apartment building on Park Street Monday afternoon.
Lynn firefighters responded to 87 Park St. shortly before 12:30 p.m. after receiving simultaneous calls from the alarm company and a 911 caller about a fire at the 18-unit brick building, according to Lynn Fire Capt. Joseph Zukas.
“It just shows how working smoke detectors work in buildings to save lives,” Zukas said.
Zukas said the fire started in the walls of a second-floor apartment and extended into the walls of the third-floor unit above it.
When firefighters arrived, there was heavy black smoke showing from the second floor. At first, crews thought the blaze was going to extend into the roof, but Zukas said firefighters made a “good stop” and were able to contain the fire damage to the two apartments.
Firefighters responded quickly to the address, which is two blocks from the Lynn Fire headquarters on Western Avenue. There was also an assist from the department’s thermal imaging cameras, which detect heat behind the walls and led crews to where the fire was without having to do much damage to the building, Zukas said.
The fire was declared under control by 12:53 p.m.
“If this fire was in the middle of the night, it could have been a lot different,” Zukas said.
Most of the damage was to the second- and third-floor bathrooms of those two units, as crews had to tear out of the ceiling and the walls to get to the fire. The six residents of those two apartments — two adults and a child lived in each — have been temporarily displaced, Zukas said.
There was also water damage to a first-floor apartment, but it’s still livable, he said.
The building, owned by 87 Park Street Partners LLC, was constructed in 1980, and is assessed at $3.76 million. The total land value is assessed at $6.95 million, according to land records.
