NEW BEDFORD, MA—New Bedford firefighters responded to a working structure fire at the corner of Ruth and Ashley Streets in the city's South End Friday morning, according to Deputy Fire Chief Scott Kruger, and one firefighter was injured.
Kruger said firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after 9 a.m. and found a heavy volume of fire from the front and west side of the building and fire rapidly expanding to the other two sides.
The fire was in a three-story wood frame vacant building at 88 Ruth Street and was upgraded to a second alarm at 9:29 a.m.
Over 40 firefighters responded to Ruth Street and the Dartmouth and Fairhaven Fire Departments provided mutual aid response along with off-duty members of the New Bedford Fire Department, according to Kruger.
One firefighter was injured, according to Kruger, and was still being evaluated at St. Luke's as of Friday afternoon.
Kruger said he did not know details about the injury.
In photos from the scene, fire had blown out multiple windows on the second and third floor of the building.
At 10:27 a.m. command at the scene reported that the fire was under control.
Kruger said there was severe damage to the building, with roof and interior collapses, and "the building is in poor condition right now."
A building to the west was a possible exposure so the residents were evacuated, according to Kruger, but the fire didn't reach that building and once it was out the residents were allowed back in and the building only suffered some radiant heat damage.
District Chief Michael Dandurand ran command at the fire with the help of District Chief James Fortin and EMA Director, Brian Nobrega, according to the department's Facebook post.
The building had just been purchased in May by Real Estate Investor John Afonso, who planned to rehab the property and rent it out, he said.
According to property records, he purchased the building for $220,000
Afonso said he found out about the fire from one of the tenants in the building next door which he also owns.
When he saw the damage the fire was causing, Afonso said he was heartbroken.
"I'm trying to clean the area up," he said.
Afonso said he had already pulled permits to renovate the property and just yesterday had someone go in to match the vinyl so they could put in an order.
City records show he received a building permit to put up siding on May 26.
At around 11:30 a.m. on Friday Afonso said the damage to the building looked pretty bad, but he hasn't been able to get inside the building yet.
"They're still putting out smoke and attacking it," he said of the firefighters on scene.
When asked if he had any idea about the cause of the fire, Afonso said he had heard rumors when he arrived on scene but wasn't sure if they were true so he didn't want to share them.
He did say that he was shown a picture of a man when he arrived and was asked if he knew him, but he did not.
Afonso said if there's a chance he can still rehab the building and the cost makes sense he will.
Kruger said they couldn't allow Afonso in to assess the damage Friday because it was not safe.
The New Bedford Police Department's Public Information Officer, Lt. Nathaniel Rodriguez said, "We are gathering information as we speak and do not have anything to provide at the moment as it is an active and on-going investigation."
Kruger said the cause of the fire is unknown and is under investigation.
Friday's fire marks the second time this year a fire has broken out at the building.
On the morning of Jan. 25, a fire involving the common area, rear hallway and exterior of the building resulted in "minimum to moderate damage with extensive electrical damage," New Bedford Fire Department District Chief David Cooper said.
At that time 12 people were displaced and assisted by the Red Cross, according to Cooper.
Following the January fire, an ArsonWatch reward program sign was posted to the side of the building that read, "REWARD UP TO $5,000 IF YOU KNOW WHO DID THIS, CALL 1-800-682-9229."
When asked at the time if the fire was considered suspicious, Cooper would only say it was under investigation.
On Friday, Kruger said he did not know if the causes of the two fires are related.
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