Repairs must be made before fire victim can return home: Firefighters faced additional challenges caused by clutter

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August 28, 2008

By Brian Messenger

The home of an 80-year-old woman at the corner of Elm Street and Rock Ridge Road remains condemned, after a fire broke out in her kitchen last Wednesday, Aug. 20.

Resident Mary Manock was not home at the time of the fire, which caused smoke, flame and heat damage in the kitchen and attic and structural damage to the house. The fire also melted the solder off a water pipe, resulting in water damage. An electrical malfunction in the kitchen stove has been deemed the cause of the fire.

"I think it's going to be a fairly long time that she's not going to be in that home," said Andover Health Director Tom Carbone. "There's enough fire damage in there — fire, smoke and water — that she'll have to have some repair work done before she can return."

Manock's neighbors are thankful she wasn't home at the time of the fire, said Dee Robb, a Rock Ridge Road resident for more than 25 years and a preschool teacher in town.

"She pulled up in the middle of the firefighters being here," said Robb. "She wasn't home all day."

Robb said Manock had left her home the day of the fire to visit her granddaughter.

"Hopefully she's going to be able to find some assistance," said Carbone, who last spoke to Manock on Aug. 22. "We've got to be trying to be a resource for her."

Carbone said the town ensured Manock made connections with the Red Cross and other service groups in the immediate aftermath of the fire.

The property presented a challenge to Andover firefighters, in part because a cluttered yard made putting up ladders and running hoses difficult, according to Deputy Fire Chief Richard Hartman.

Her home, across the street from the side entrance of Merrimack College, is almost completely obscured by vegetation along three sides. The backyard is fenced off.

The front yard contains lawn furniture, lanterns, wires, a ladder and a humidifier, while the driveway had on it a tarp, boxes, trash bags, bottles, rugs and a lawn mower. A winding, overgrown path to the front door was also lined with old carpets.

The property was one of several featured in a Town Meeting slide show by supporters of the unsuccessful "anti-blight" bylaw, according to article petitioner and Kirkland Drive resident John P. Kennedy who made a pitch to approve the enforcement of property maintenance standards in town.

Kennedy said the situation of Manock's neighbors is not much different from those who live on Kirkland Drive, where he said neighbors have complained about a neighbor's property.

Rock Ridge Road resident Dee Robb, Manock's next-door neighbor, said she and other neighbors supported the anti-blight bylaw brought forth for the second consecutive year by Kirkland Drive residents.

"Those poor firefighters, trying to get in there with all the trees and the stuff in there," said Robb. "That would be my concern. How could they get in?"

"All that extra stuff certainly created a much more difficult fire response for the men," said Hartman. "Access outside the building was obviously impeded. That created additional challenges."

Moving through the home's interior was the next challenge for firefighters.

"We had a number of extra obstructions," said Hartman. "They had their challenges getting around inside."

Andover Health Director Tom Carbone said the inside of Manock's home was "cluttered," but would not comment further. "There are issues out there," Carbone said of the property.

"It certainly has an impact," Carbone said. "The firefighters had trouble getting around because of the conditions there. I think they did a remarkable job because of what they were up against."

The fire was put out within 20 minutes.

Hartman said firefighters responded to the home after North Andover firefighters received a cellular phone call about a possible fire on the street.

"The fire had extended into adjacent cabinets, into the walls and into the attic," said Hartman. "Once it gets across the attic there's a good chance you're going to lose the house."