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February 18, 2008

Providence house fire deemed suspicious

PROVIDENCE -- Five adults and six children escaped unhurt early this morning when a fire of suspicious origin partially destroyed their 2½-story house at 15-17 Waverly St., in the West End, fire officials said.

A sixth adult, an older woman, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital to be examined for possible smoke inhalation, according to fire officials and the police.

Fire Department Battalion Chief Joseph Desmarais, who commanded the firefighting effort, said the house has a suspected illegal basement apartment -- he described it as “well-finished” -- and said the discovery of the apartment is expected to be referred to the city Department of Inspection and Standards for enforcement action.

Two people living in the basement apartment managed to squeeze through a standard-sized basement window in order to reach safety, he said.

The house also was the apparent location of a daycare center. There was a daycare sign in the window and on the first floor there were a number of playpens, cribs and highchairs.

The occupants were left homeless because the extent of damage makes the house uninhabitable, Desmarais said. But a representative of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Red Cross came to the scene to help them with temporary lodging and other assistance.

-- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

The police identified the owner of the house, who lived on the first floor, as Antonia Ferrera, 43. The second-floor tenant was identified as Garnite Descollines, 39.

“We believe the first-floor rear porch is where the fire began,” Desmarais said. The volume of fire and the likely point of origin make the blaze suspicious, Desmarais said. A fire investigator pronounced the fire as suspicious and took debris samples for evidence of an accelerant.

The fire was called in at 4:30 a.m., and Desmarais said firefighters “did an outstanding job” by halting the flames before they took down the entire structure.

As it is, the fire destroyed the two-story porch at the rear and took down the rear portion of the house itself.

“It went into the first and second floors and consumed some of the contents, too,” he said. Flames scorched a 6-foot fence at the rear of the dwelling and melted the vinyl siding on a neighboring house.

There also was extensive smoke and water damage to what remains of the structure, he said.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:20 PM | Permalink

February 18, 2008

Providence house fire deemed suspicious

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