Elderly Mass. Woman Hurt in Arson Fire

Aug. 19, 2013
A mattress leaning up against the house was set on fire.

Aug. 19--HYANNIS -- Police and fire officials are investigating an apparent arson early Sunday morning that sent an 89-year-old woman to the hospital.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at a duplex at 50 and 52 Fresh Holes Road at 4:26 a.m., Hyannis fire Lt. Thomas Kenney said.

A mattress had been leaned up against the rear of the duplex and set on fire, Kenney said.

The fire from the mattress traveled into the eaves and attic of the building, doing the most damage to the unit at 50 Fresh Holes Road, he said.

It took firefighters about 45 minutes to locate and knock down the blaze, which Kenney described as a "miserably hot attic fire."

On Sunday afternoon a tarp covered part of the roof, and the rear of the building was boarded up and blackened. The mattress where the fire started was burnt to its springs and buried beneath a pile of other debris.

The hospitalized woman's family members, who were sitting outside the home, said they believe the fire was set by youngsters fighting over a bicycle.

The woman, Alleyne Edwards, was in a wheelchair and had to be helped from the home, said her son, Chuck Edwards.

"I'm so saddened by this," said her nephew, Garrett Ruffen. "I can't believe what I'm seeing."

Alleyne Edwards is known for taking care of the homeless, both men said. She was treated at Cape Cod Hospital and later released, hospital spokeswoman Robin Lord wrote in an email.

Police had responded to the area several times over the previous day for disturbances, including one instance in which young people were allegedly throwing rocks at a house, said Barnstable police Sgt. Sean Sweeney.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday, police were called to 50 Fresh Holes Road for a large group of young people in the 10- to 12-year-old range fighting over a bicycle, Sweeney said.

Officers advised the parents of the children to discuss the problem among themselves, he said. But he said it isn't clear at this point whether the incidents are related.

When police returned to the house for the fire the next morning, a large group of people was standing outside the duplex and a line of black smoke was coming from the roofline, he said. Alleyne Edwards was being helped from the building and a neighbor was hosing down the rear of the home, he said.

Three people were in the duplex at the time, Kenney said.

Kenney said one person was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Red Cross personnel are providing temporary housing for the residents, he said.

Firefighters from the Barnstable and Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills departments assisted.

There was about $50,000 worth of damage to the building and another $10,000 worth of damage to its contents, Kenney said.

The property, assessed at $160,800, is owned by Felix and Meriam Mietla Trustees, according to Barnstable town records.

Fresh Holes Road and the streets immediately surrounding it are often a focus of police investigations into drug activity and violence.

Copyright 2013 - Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.

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