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Historic Danvers Town Hall damaged in 3-alarm fire

E-mail|Link|Comments () September 8, 2009 07:20 PM

(Jonathan M. Whitmore for The Boston Globe)

By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff

DANVERS -- A three-alarm blaze heavily damaged the roof of the 154-year-old Danvers Town Hall this afternoon, causing $300,000 to $500,000 in damages.

Firefighters responded at about 2 p.m. to a report of smoke billowing from the eaves, and quickly rushed to the third floor of the building to keep the flames, hidden in a hollow portion of the gabled roof, from engulfing the inside of the historic building, said Fire Chief Jim Tutko. Using chainsaws, some firefighters "surgically removed" the affected portion of the roof, while others hosed down the flames, Tutko said.

"We knew that if the fire got into the attic, we'd probably lose the whole roof," Tutko said at the scene. "We physically picked that apart. We pulled that all off. It was very tedious. It took us about an hour and half to get it down."

The fire was sparked by the soldering of copper flashing by a contractor, Deputy Fire Chief Kevin P. Farrell said.

"You have an old building with old wood dried up for years. With hot soldering, it doesn't take much to ignite," Farrell said.

Two Danvers firefighters were treated at the scene for heat exhaustion. There were no other injuries. Two dozen contractors were inside when the fire started because the building is undergoing extensive renovation and restoration work, Tutko said. Town employees are temporarily working out of a vacant portion of Danvers High School during construction, which started in February.

Tutko said there likely is "extensive water damage" to the inside of the town hall. Farrell said the blaze, "does not appear to be of a malicious intent or suspicious." The damage estimates include cleanup work, Farrell said.

Built in 1855 as a Greek Revival structure, the town hall is the oldest municipal building in Danvers, said Richard Trask, the town's archivist. It was a combination of Town House and high school when first built. It went through three major renovations, in the 1880s, 1899, and in the late 1940s, Trask said.

"I had a very sinking feeling in my stomach" upon hearing of the fire, Trask said. "Much of the history of Danvers was centered around that building. It was the site of various war meetings during the Civil War, abolitionist meetings. People like John Kennedy, Henry Cabot Lodge visited there. It's basically the center of town government."

Current renovations mainly involve the exterior of the building, which "had been falling apart, coming apart over many years," Trask said. "The town used to put just another coat of paint over it and pretty much ignored the problems with the exterior. The renovation of Town Hall was twofold: to bring the exterior to its original glory, and on the interior they were doing new heating, air conditioning system, electrical systems and some renovation of office spaces."

The town of Danvers had posted details of the renovation on its website, saying the project was on time and on budget. To read more, click here.