Woonsocket Fire Marshal Determines Both Jan. 10 Fires Accidental

Woonsocket Fire Marshal Mike Morin reports the investigation of the fires that struck two city apartment buildings Jan. 10 reveals they were accidental.

The first fire, which Woonsocket firefighters were called to 179 Lincoln St. at about 12:30 Jan. 10, started on the porch chair. "We know exactly where the fire started," Morin said. They're still investigating how it happened, he said, though they believe it was an accident.

With the 272 Front St. Fire, where firefighters were called at about 9:20 p.m. the same day, Morin said, "It was a table lamp that was knocked over." The fire began in a bedroom at the back of the building, Morin said, when something caused a lamp to fall over onto a pile of clothes that then caught fire. A nearby bed caught from there, he said. Beds are pretty good fuel for house fires, he noted.

The Red Cross has provided emergency shelter to 21 adults and three children displaced by the fire, Morin said.