Family Displaced by Structure Fire on Marland Street Monday

In the early morning on Monday, Andover Firefighters battled a structure fire that started in the basement of a Marland Street home.

Fortunately, nobody was injured in the blaze but the family of six was displaced by the incident, as the home is now deemed uninhabitable. 

Shortly after 5 a.m. a one occupant of the home at 22 Marland St. had awoke to the smell of smoke, quickly alerting the rest of the family and calling the Fire Department. 

According to Fire Chief Michael Mansfield, the man, the eldest male in the home, had opened the basement door after smelling the smoke and was hit with super-heated air and smoke. 

Andover firefighters from Ballardvale and the central station quickly responded to the fire and had the blaze extinguished by 6:10 a.m.

"While the fire is still under investigation, there is a high level of certainty that the cause of the fire was electrical in nature," said Mansfield. 

Mansfield said that since the fire damaged structural supports in the basement, the town had to deem the home uninhabitable due to safety concerns. 

However, the Red Cross also responded to the incident, according to spokesperson Ashley Studley, and is now providing the family with shelter, at a hotel, as well as resources for food and more. 

"Volunteers provided them with emergency temporary shelter – a hotel stay, and emergency funds for food and clothing, comfort kits – which include toiletries, smoke packs – which remove the scent of smoke from linens and clothing, and two Mickey Mouse dolls," said Studley.