Discarded smoking materials started a Saturday fire in a downtown apartment complex that displaced 22 children and 15 adults.
The fire spread through mulch to polyurethane foam between the exterior siding and interior walls, badly damaging a block of apartments at 11-18 Crown St., Fire Marshal John Yacovino said. It also damaged at least one other unit and knocked out power to a total of eight apartments in the complex. The impacted units face South Colony Street and remained without power Tuesday.
“It was a rapid high-heat fire,” Yacovino said. “We believed discarded smoking materials directly ignited the foam directly above the mulch.”
The electrical system is in significant need of repair before service can be restored, said Fire Chief Ken Morgan.