PLUM ISLAND, Mass.-- A fast-moving fire gutted two buildings yesterday, leaving a family homeless.
Flames tore through 10 and 12 Old Point Road at about 3 p.m., but were quickly contained by firefighters, who took about an hour to fully vanquish the blazes.
Firefighters were still at the scene last night and unable to give the cause of the fire.
Both houses were originally owned by Imalda Dobson, who lived at 12 Old Point Road. Her husband built the houses 40 years ago, she said, and she was devastated by the fire.
"We've lost everything," she said. "We've lost a lot of memories."
No one was living in 10 Old Point Road, which was condemned last spring after a police investigation found wild animals living in the rafters.
Witnesses said the fire started in 10 Old Point Road and quickly spread to the neighboring house. Neighbors and passers-by lined the streets, several taking photos of the smoke pouring out of 12 Old Point Road, while more and more fire trucks came to the scene. Some parents brought their children to watch the fire.
The fire brought trucks from Amesbury, Boxford, Byfield, Groveland, Ipswich, Newburyport, Rowley and West Newbury, and shut down Old Point Road for nearly two hours, requiring school buses to drop off children at the Citgo station. Parked cars lined the Plum Island Turnpike as Old Point Road residents could not get to their homes.
At the scene of the fire, police arrested Jackie Hutson, 47, of 12 Old Point Road, and charged him with assaulting a police officer, obstructing a firefighter and disorderly conduct. He was being held at the station as of press time.
The Newbury Police Department offered no details on the nature of the arrest.
Republished with permission of the Daily News of Newburyport.
