GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. CLICK HERE TO TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS.

Sign up for email newsletters

Sign up for email newsletters

DRACUT — A three-alarm fire on Arlington Street during the early morning hours after July 4 was caused by sparklers that were disposed of in a trash can, according to authorities.

No injuries were reported, but nine people were displaced by the blaze at the single-family wood-framed home at 362 Arlington St., Dracut Fire Chief Richard Patterson and State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said in a press release.

Firefighters were called to the home shortly after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday to find what the release states was heavy fire and smoke coming from the home.

According to the release, all the occupants escaped the house after a neighbor observed the fire in its early stages, but the fire grew to three alarms and caused significant damage to the structure.

Investigators determined the fire originated in the rear of the home in the area of several trash barrels, where sparklers had been disposed of following an Independence Day barbecue. The release states that the fire extended to the home and reached the second floor before firefighters fully extinguished it.

“We’re very fortunate that everyone made it out of the house safely, especially given the late hour,” Patterson said in the release. “I want to remind the community that people are hurt and property is damaged by illegal fireworks every year in Massachusetts.”

Patterson added that sparklers burn at temperatures over 1,800 degrees and can remain hot enough to ignite debris even after they are out.

Ostroskey said in the release that illegal fireworks caused more than 900 fires between 2012 and 2021. He said that in addition to the 43 fire service injuries and $2.1 million in damages attributed to these fires, medical facilities statewide reported 31 severe burn injuries extending to 5% or more of the victims’ bodies that were caused by illegal fireworks and sparklers.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, sparklers caused an estimated 900 emergency department-treated injuries nationwide in 2020 — and 44% were to children younger than 5.

The fire on Tuesday was jointly investigated by the Dracut Fire Department and State Police fire investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office.

Mutual aid was provided at the scene by fire departments in Lowell, Methuen, Tyngsboro, Pelham, N.H., and Hudson, N.H. Companies from Lawrence, Nashua, N.H., and Salem, N.H., provided station coverage.

Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

Sign up for email newsletters