Firefighters were called to the scene of a fully engulfed house in Peabody early Thursday morning, the same house that was at the center of a bomb scare investigation on Wednesday.
NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that it was a very intense fire that completely gutted the home at 6 Crestwood Lane. The Peabody fire chief said the blaze was suspicious and that investigators would be sifting through the rubble looking for possible explosives or accelerants.
By the time firefighters arrived at the scene, the dwelling was fully involved. Dismayed neighbors couldn't believe their eyes.
"Blows my mind. I can't believe it. They were here all day. The fire department, the police department, the FBI. We heard that everybody was here today. It's unreal," Don Polaski said.
Wednesday night, police said they didn't have enough evidence or information to arrest Shane Kieran, 23, who lived at the house with his mother until a house fire three months ago. Wednesday night Kieran returned to the house with his attorney.
"I committed no crime, there's no crime here. This is simply paint ball materials," Kieran said as his lawyer advised him not to talk to reporters.
"The police are overeacting to something innocuous," Kieran's lawyer said.
They said police had found paint ball materials, but investigators were so concerned about what they found at the house Wednesday that they evacuated the neighborhood around 2 p.m. Wednesday.
"I think anybody in their right mind would be concerned to hear that ... nobody wants to find out that there's a bomb near your house or on the street," neighbor Donna Baybutt said.
State Police bomb squad crews were called in and experts removed materials that they said could be used to make explosive devices. The fire chief wouldn't identify what the materials were.
Kieran was arrested on drug charges several years ago, authorities said.
Previous Stories:
- July 5, 2006: Bomb Squad Probes 'Suspicious Material'
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