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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Fire Destroys Home

Weymouth fire destroys couple's dream home
By Kaitlin Keane The Patriot Ledger 

WEYMOUTH — Frank Jones was weeks away from spending the holidays in the comfort of his newly-renovated home. After six months of work and thousands of dollars in construction, the Pleasant Street house was days from inspection and nearly complete. Jones’ longtime companion, Maureen Gould, was ready to put finishing touches in the new kitchen and decorate for Christmas. The couple’s thoughts were far from festive Monday as they stood on a neighbor’s lawn and watched their dream home burn to a charred shell.
“What you see is what is left,” said Jones, looking on somberly as firefighters hacked through the roof with an ax to snuff flames still burning in the attic.
“Everything in there was new,” he said. “We were almost done.” Jones and Gould watched from next door with Shadow, their black Labrador, who had been in the backyard when the fire started.
A construction crew was working inside when they noticed flames on the exterior of the house and called the fire department. Jones arrived shortly after and called Gould with the news.
“We were getting ready to have Christmas here,” said Gould, who recently rented out her nearby condominium because the house was almost ready.
Now she may have no choice but to return to the condo. Jones was less willing to leave the home, where he has lived for 24 years. “I’ll sleep in the driveway if I have to,” he said, keeping his eyes on the smoke still billowing from the roof.
The house, at 1092 Pleasant St., was nearly fully engulfed when Weymouth Fire Department arrived just after 2 p.m., said Deputy Chief Joseph Davis.
The fire had started in the back and quickly spread up the walls and through the house, gutting both floors. The flames scorched the grass on the lawn and put the neighboring home in danger of catching fire, he said.
Davis estimated the damage to the home was at least $300,000.
After the fire was knocked down, all of the Sheetrock and ceiling material – much of it new – had to be ripped down to prevent the fire from smoldering inside, Davis said.
Weymouth was down one engine due to budget cuts, he said, but had two engines at the scene. The were assisted by Quincy and Braintree, with coverage from Rockland and Randolph.
“They did a fantastic job but there are only so many of us,” he said. “It was an excellent job and I’m proud of them, all of them.” The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Weymouth fire and police departments. Kaitlin Keane may be reached at kkeane@ledger.com

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