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May 29, 2008 Peabody Fire Temporarily Displaces 900 People Dozens Lose Everything In Fast-Moving Fire PEABODY City officials ordered the evacuation of a sprawling apartment complex Thursday night after a massive fire destroyed a building with 26 units. Some 900 residents of the Highlands at Dearborn complex were displaced for the night. Forty-two people were left homeless as a result of the fire. An emergency shelter was set up at Salem State College for those unable to make other arrangements. The evacuations were ordered after water, electricity and gas were shut off for the entire development, which is at the intersection of Routes 1 and 128. The blaze broke out at the complex's Building 8 about 4 p.m. The wood-framed, 3-and-a-half- to 4-and-a-half-story building was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, fire officials said. Officials said the fire apparently started in the basement of Building 8 and quickly burned upward and across the roof line. They are focusing on a gas line in the basement as a possible cause. The building was rapidly gutted as firefighters concentrated on keeping the flames from spreading to other buildings in the complex. "The heat index is very dry," Fire Chief Steven Pasdon said. "Prevailing winds are probably 20 miles per hour. So we've had a lot of different tasks we've had to perform here to keep this fire from spreading to adjacent buildings." At the height of the blaze, neighboring Middleton sent an 8,000-gallon tanker truck to the scene as firefighters struggled to get enough water. Thick, black smoke was visible for miles. There were reports it could be seen as far away as Boston, Woburn and Newburyport. Traffic was disrupted as drivers slowed to watch the fire. State highway officials closed the ramp from Route 128 south to Route 1 north and south. One firefighter was taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. Another firefighter was treated at the scene for exhaustion. Officials said 43 people lived in the destroyed building. They lost virtually everything. "I've already cried, I've sobbed," one resident said. "What can you do? It's not going to get me anything back." Residents of the other buildings in the complex milled about outside, trying to figure out what to do next. "I went in and grabbed my dogs, my rings and my firebox," one said. Many were concerned about pets that were left behind. "I want to know where my dog is," said Connie Mistretta. "I want to know where my baby is." "I haved a dog and two cats," Tiffany Griffin said. "I'm most worried about if they came out. We don't know anything, they won't tell us." The building's sprinkler system was up to code, but there were no sprinklers in the attic or teh basement, according to state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan. Those sprinklers were sufficient to allow residents to escape before the flames spread out of control, but not enough to extinguish the fire, he said. A new provision of the state fire code that will take effect later this year may require full sprinkler systems in similar buildings, Coan said. The Red Cross had three teams on the scene assisting residents.