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Lots Of Damage, But No Injuries In Gloucester 4-Alarm Fire

GLOUCESTER (CBS) - A four-alarm fire at a Gloucester house Saturday did lots of damage, but no one was hurt.

The fire started at 76 Centennial Avenue and spread to two other houses.

Gloucester Fire Chief Eric Smith says the residents were away.

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Gloucester Fire Chief Eric Smith. (Photo credit: WBZ-TV)

"The residents weren't at home. The neighbor at 74 saw the fire and he notified the people in his residence and others to evacuate," Smith said.

"There's a lot of damage there at 76 and it may have to be razed," Smith said.

Gloucester State Senator Bruce Tarr credits the fact action of the Gloucester Fire Department with preventing the fire from spreading.

"These houses are closely spaced together and we had a little wind. This could have been a much different situation if we didn't have the professional response that we had, certainly from our Gloucester Fire Department, but also from neighboring communities," Tarr said.

"A great number responded, and responded quickly to the scene," Tarr said.

It wasn't very windy and the Fire Chief adds that there was another factor working to his firefighters' advantage.

"Thank God the heat is down, so it's a lot less brutal on my guys than it would have been yesterday for this type of thing," Smith said.

No firefighters were injured and the fire is believed to have started in a storage room.

The fire chief says he believes the fire was an accident and the investigation will continue.

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