On the morning of Wednesday, April 24, a fire broke out in a vacant, 10-room Victorian home undergoing renovation at 8 Central Avenue in Newtonville. The Newton Fire Department responded around 11:30AM to reports of heavy smoke from the 2½ story, wood-framed structure. On arrival, firefighters found heavy fire in the attic and upper floors, and the incident quickly went to three alarms, with firefighters ordered out of the building. For hours, three aerial ladder trucks poured water on and through the structure until around 2PM, when firefighters were again able to enter. The fire was knocked down by late afternoon.
(photos: Bruce Henderson)
The property, assessed at $1.5 million before the incident, had been vacant and under renovation since at least January 2022. According to City records, at the time of the fire, the building permits remaining open for the property were for adding/relocating/remodeling bathrooms, replacing kitchen cabinets, and installing 11 smoke detectors.
After investigation conducted by Newton Fire Department and State Police assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office, Newton Fire Chief Gregory J. Gentile and State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine reported that the fire was “most likely caused by the combustion of oily rags used during renovations on the unoccupied home” and that it began “near the top of a staircase on the second floor.” The State Fire Marshal’s office later confirmed that witnesses had reported that “staining rags had been left in a trash bag the day before” at the top of that staircase.
