Under investigation: Cause of Yarmouth Commons fire started by a ... - Cape Cod Times

YARMOUTH — Thirty families have been temporarily put out of their homes at Yarmouth Commons, a Route 28 housing complex, following what authorities said was a kitchen fire on Saturday.

On Wednesday, volunteers from the American Red Cross said they were shutting down a shelter at the Mattacheese Middle School that they had opened following the fire. Nobody from the apartment complex had come needing to stay overnight. They added all residents they had contacted after the fire said they had other places they could stay.

At the site of the fire, damage appeared minimal on Wednesday. Two windows on the third floor were boarded up, but otherwise no exterior damage was apparent. Signs posted on windows said "do not enter" and "trespassers will be arrested."

The fire started in apartment seven in Building 2 at 881 Route 28 on the corner of Ocean Avenue.

The property was once home to the Cavalier Hotel but now has the three new buildings, with about 30 units each. Approximately 125 people were driven from Building 2.

"The cause of the fire is unknown but it started in the area of a stove. The tenants (of that apartment) were not home at the time. It is believed to be accidental," said Yarmouth Fire Inspector Lt. Matthew Bearse on Sunday.

Bearse said the smoke detectors and sprinklers functioned exactly as designed, triggering an automatic alarm at 12:20 p.m. and discharging water. The fire burned up into cabinets above the stove but was stopped by the sprinklers before it got into the wall.

According to fire officials, the sprinkler system prevented what "very well could have been a loss of life."

Moments later, Yarmouth Fire Department received a call from a neighbor reporting smoke on the third floor. Once crews arrived, they deactivated the sprinklers and put out the fire with handlines, officials said.

Residents were evacuating on their own. Firefighters helped someone in a wheelchair on the second floor to get out. That person and a firefighter were taken to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis with non-life-threatening injuries, Bearse said. Ultimately, officials reported two residents sustaining minor injuries and being taken to the hospital.

The fire inspector said everyone had to leave the building because the fire on the third floor caused water damage to all 30 units, leaving about a half-inch of standing water in each. People were allowed back in to pick up medicines and other essentials before leaving.

Yarmouth Deputy Fire Chief Jon Sawyer, the Red Cross and John Owens, management agent for the property owned by Wingate Companies, were on the scene. Officials said the fire department worked with the property manager Monday morning to find solutions for the displaced residents.

Bearse said Sunday that the building would need an electrical inspection plus water removal to be habitable again.

"We are hoping it is only going to take a couple of days," he said.

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