Suspicious Late Night Fire At Vacant Home

Melrose firefighters knocked down a suspicious fire at a vacant house on Groveland Road late Monday night.

Melrose Fire Capt. Ed Collina said that Melrose Fire companies Engine 2, Engine 3 and Ladder 1, along with Cataldo Ambulance, responded to the fire at the one-story, Cape-style house at 33 Groveland Road at 11:37 p.m. on Monday. Collina said the house is vacant and has been vacant "for some time."

"It's suspicious in nature," Collina said. "I can't elaborate too much because it's an ongoing investigation with myself and the state Fire Marshal's Office."

A cause has not been determined, but Collina said the fire spread into the kitchen area as well as the exterior of the home.

"Again, it's the early stages, we don't even know who owns the house," he said. "It might have been a foreclosure, but I can't confirm that at this time."

According to the city assessor's database, the one-story Cape-style home was built about 1948 and has seven rooms, four of which are bedrooms. The home and land was assessed at $368,900 this year; the home was last sold on Nov. 30, 2005 by Kenneth C. Kumm to Robert O. LeClair for $333,000.

Collina estimated the fire caused approximately $50,000 worth of damage, with firefighters having to "open the roof" and take out the windows.

None of the Melrose firefighters who responded to the fire reported any injuries, Collina said.