4-alarm fire destroys house in Peabody
Staff writer
A four-alarm house fire Friday destroyed an apparently newly purchased home in Peabody.
Firefighters from Peabody, Florence, Burns, and Walton were summoned to 602 N. Olive St. at 4:27 p.m. and battled the blaze for nearly five hours. Half an hour after leaving, Peabody firefighters were called back when a passer-by reported the fire had rekindled.
Appraiser’s records list the property as owned by Allan Karanu of Hutchinson.
Randy Dallke, who owns property across the alley from the house, said the fire was mostly in the attic and the south side of the house. A porch on the south side of the house also burned, he said.
He believed the people living in the house recently purchased it, but residents could not be reached for comment.
A resident who escaped the burning house reportedly collapsed in the street. Peabody ambulance attendants checked the resident and determined he was upset but otherwise fine.
Ammunition exploding in the house posed challenges for firefighters, as did water for pumping. Firefighters requested extra water from Hillsboro, which supplies water to Peabody.
Fire marshal Chris Mercer said Monday that after inspecting the house, he ruled the cause of the fire “undetermined.”
“A lot of fires that happen in the attic are caused by wiring,” Mercer said.
It was reported that Walton firefighters tried enter the house but had to withdraw and allow it to burn, concentrating instead on preventing the fire from spreading to nearby residences.