LOWELL — One person is dead and eight others are displaced after a two-alarm fire tore through a Barton Avenue home early Thursday morning, according to officials.
In a joint press release issued later Thursday morning, Lowell Fire Chief Phil Charron, Lowell Interim Police Superintendent Barry Golner, State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey and Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said the cause of the fatal fire remains under investigation.
Firefighters arrived at 6 Barton Ave. in the city’s Highlands neighborhood just after 3:10 a.m. Thursday to find heavy fire showing from the third floor of the residence. While fighting the blaze, firefighters made entry to the building and found an adult male who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the press release.
The man’s name is being withheld pending a formal identification by the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and full family notifications.
About 10 a.m. Thursday, the damaged portions of the home were being boarded up and some residents and neighbors were outside nearby.
Neighbors said they saw many police and fire officials, including as many as 30 to 40 firefighters, respond quickly to the early morning blaze.
One Barton Avenue neighbor, who didn’t provide a name, said he saw “flames shooting up” from the building. He said the man who died was an older gentleman who lived on the third floor, where damage was evident outside.
A second-floor resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was awoken by all of the commotion.
“When I left my room, all I could see was smoke,” he said.
He also noted water damage in the home.
The fire’s origin and cause are being jointly investigated by the Lowell Fire Department, Lowell Police Department and State Police assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office and Middlesex District Attorney’s office.
Reporter Cameron Morsberger contributed to this story.
This is a developing story.
