REVERE, MASS. (WHDH) - The improper disposal of smoking materials sparked a wind-driven brush fire that torched two homes and three sheds in Revere last week, officials announced Thursday.
The blaze broke out in a yard at 19 Loring Road on May 8 and quickly spread to tall marsh grass, a wooden stockade fence, three sheds, and two houses, Revere Fire Chief Christopher Bright and State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey said in a joint news release.
A home at 21 Loring Road suffered significant damage and the home at 19 Loring Road suffered heat damage to the vinyl siding, officials said. Total damages have been estimated at $160,000.
Investigators say they determined that the fire was started by cigarettes that were tossed into dry grass.
There was abundant evidence of smoking materials and someone was seen smoking in the area not long before the fire started, according to investigators.
“Brush fires burn like gasoline, fast and furious,” Bright said. “The Revere and mutual aid firefighters did a tremendous job of containing the spread of this fire with 50 mph wind gusts and the two houses so close together.”
The Red Cross is assisting a family of four who was displaced from 21 Loring Road.
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