Firefighters at 3-alarm blaze at Mass. boat yard
IPSWICH, Mass. — Fire destroyed a vacant Massachusetts boat yard on the Ipswich River and damaged an adjacent house Friday.
The three-alarm blaze broke out late in the morning at Melanson’s boat yard in Ipswich, a coastal town of about 12,000 residents about 30 miles north of Boston.
Television video showed flames leaping into the air and plumes of black smoke billowing from the building, just before it collapsed into the Ipswich River, but the flames had been doused by about noon. No one was injured.
State Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Joe Ferson said the fire left an oil sheen on the river, and authorities were using a boom to contain it.
Ipswich Selectman Raymond Morley said the wood-frame building once housed a lobster boat building business, but it closed years ago. The owners used to convert car engines into motors for the boats, and Morley said he thinks there were still many auto parts in the building.
Morley said he did not believe anyone was in the building. He said the residents of the damaged house next door are on vacation but have been informed of the fire.
The state Fire Marshal’s office is assisting in the investigation.
The Coast Guard also is responding to check for possible water pollution and keep other boaters away from the site.
An Ipswich Fire Department dispatcher said no one was immediately available to comment, but Morley said firefighters from surrounding towns helped battle the blaze.
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