SPRINGFIELD – The cause of a fire that heavily damaged a historic row house on Maple Street will go undetermined.
Investigators with the city’s Arson and Bomb Squad are unable to safely enter the building at 174 Maple St., so they cannot search for and examine evidence to find the cause of the fire, said Fire Capt. Drew Piemonte.
The fire was reported at about 10 p.m. Jan. 28. No one was injured in the blaze, he said.
The fire is believed to have started on the third floor or attic area of the building. It burned through the roof, which collapsed, and made the third floor unstable. Beams holding the third floor are heavily damaged and in danger of giving way. Fire inspectors cannot enter the building without risking injury, Piemonte said.
Staff
The building is one of six attached row houses. Because each is separated by firewalls that run from the basement to the attic, firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading to the other five. The unit that burned is on the end of the row, farthest from the intersection of Central Street.
The city owns 174 and the adjacent 176. The other four were purchased just a week before the fire by Maple Street Rowhouses LLC, which is made up of several partners including Springfield businessman Paul J. Bongiorni.
Officials with the Springfield Building Department have examined the building’s structural integrity, a step in determining what can be done with the building, said Timothy Sheehan, chief development officer for Springfield.
The Springfield Preservation Trust is concerned the city has not secured the building to prevent water from pouring in through the open roof. The row houses are on the organization’s 2023 list of most endangered historic buildings in the city.
