ATHOL — On Friday at approximately 11:30 p.m., the fire department was dispatched to 90 Mount Pleasant St. for a reported structure fire. Upon arrival a fire was confirmed and a first alarm response was initiated.
Firefighters responded to the basement area where the fire was located and extinguished it. Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera said it appeared that occupants were operating a generator in the basement to provide power to the home. The generator caught fire, causing damage to it as well as items in its immediate reach. He said the fire was contained to a small section of the basement.
Chief Guarnera said, “The generator was being used to supply electricity to the dwelling where somebody may have been living illegally. The dwelling is inhabitable due to a previous fire and has all utilities shut off. The generator had a makeshift exhaust set-up which definitely did not vent the exhaust vapors correctly.”
Athol Building Inspector Bob Legare responded to the scene to make an inspection. He said the town is in the process of trying to contact the owner of the property.
According to town records, it is a two-story family duplex, built around 1800, and owned by James H. Wilson of Athol. The 2,668 square foot structure sustained major damage from a fire on Oct. 14, 2018.
The Board of Health, Building Inspector, Electrical Inspector, as well as Fire Prevention are continuing to investigate Friday’s incident.
The fire and building departments have determined the house is structurally unsound, and unsafe for firefighters or anyone else to enter. They affixed a large red “X” to the outside alerting citizens as well as firefighters to the danger.
Athol Health Agent Deborah Vondal was contacted about the incident and had made a determination to post it for emergency condemnation. “There is no water and no electricity. We need to make sure nobody goes back into the house,” she said Wednesday. She said there were indications someone might have been staying there, noting half of the building had been burned in the October fire. “It might have been someone doing repairs on the other half,” she said. Emergency condemnations are sometimes put in place so no one will go back there, and to prevent “squatters.”
Vondal was seen posting official notices on the doors Wednesday afternoon. There were signs of habitation — overflowing garbage cans filled with rubbish, and trash bags filled with items left on the overgrown lawn.
According to the notices, the health department has made a finding that the house is unfit for human habitation and it was further determined that conditions there pose an immediate danger to the life and health of occupants. An inspection by the town revealed there is no water, heat, electricity, operable bathroom, appropriate electrical systems, or safe egresses, and it was determined the owner failed to maintain the property in a safe and sanitary condition.
The order states that any person refusing to leave the dwelling may be forcibly removed by the Board of Health or local police. Anyone who fails to comply with the order may be subject to fines ranging from $10 to $500 for each day in violation.