Burned out, but relieved to be safe

BEVERLY -- David and Lynne Provost held hands in the soot-filled parking lot across from their burned-out condominium building yesterday morning. On Thursday night, the couple were sitting down to watch the Red Sox game when they smelled smoke and helped evacuate the building. Now they hoped they could salvage something from their home.

In a few minutes, a Beverly firefighter brought smiles to their faces. He had retrieved a water-soaked laptop computer from their apartment. "Do you think it'll work?" David Provost asked aloud.

"It's devastating; it's surrealistic," said Lynne Provost, who has lived with her husband in the building for 15 years. "We thought someone was barbecuing, and then we could hear sizzling in the walls. People outside were honking and telling us they could see fire."

"We went up and down the hallway, pounding on doors, and there were some people who were not aware of what was happening," said Lynne Provost. "They got out."

Firefighters were still putting out small blazes inside the structure on Duck Pond Road yesterday. The Beverly Fire Department and investigators from the state fire marshal's office were also sifting through the wreckage of the 35-unit condominium complex looking for a cause after the three-alarm fire raced through the building. Officials said at least 35 people were left homeless.

When firefighters arrived around 7 p.m. Thursday, the three-story building was engulfed in smoke, with flames shooting from the roof.

"We had fire going 30 feet over the building, and we could see heavy black smoke pushing out of the eaves," said Fire Captain James Maggiacomo, who was one of the first firefighters to respond to the scene.

Fire Chief Richard Pierce said there were sprinklers in the units but not in the attic, where the fire spread the length of the 150-foot building. As firefighters battled the blaze, a portion of the roof collapsed. No injuries were reported. "The entire building is uninhabitable and will be for a significant amount of time," Pierce said. He could not estimate the cost of damage to the 22-year-old building.

Neighbors embraced one another at the fire scene. Like the Provosts, many had run through hallways banging on doors and making sure everyone got out of the building. Steve Kelley, who lives on the first floor, grabbed a fire extinguisher and followed the smoke to a second-floor apartment. When he opened the door he saw thick, black smoke. "There was no way I was going to get in there," he said.

Kathy Olivero wiped away a tear as she described the moments leading up to the fire. Olivero was still trying to sort out her insurance benefits, but had already received some good news: Her company had told her that they would pay for her to stay in a hotel for the next two weeks.