Fire destroys Route 1 business Loaned tanker needed as hydrants freeze

NEWBURYPORT — Officials are still searching for the cause of a four-alarm fire that yesterday scorched a convenience store at a strip mall on the Route 1 traffic circle, where firefighters had to overcome frigid temperatures, frozen hydrants and rush-hour traffic.

The fire started at The Whistle Stop Market and Deli at the side of the complex closest to the road. Adjacent businesses were also damaged. No one was hurt, but The Whistle Stop, which was under new ownership, appeared to be destroyed.

"It's a total loss," said Anthony Vitale, the Whistle Stop's manager. "There is black soot everywhere. They smashed in all the windows."

The fire began sometime around 5 p.m. in one of the Whistle Stop's back rooms, according to customer Jolene Talbot. Talbot said she was picking out supplies for a new apartment when she and store employees started to smell smoke.

When a man came into the store and told them there was a fire, Talbot said she and the others in the store checked the box-filled back room and found flames reaching to the ceiling.

Newburyport fire Chief Stephen Cutter said he had not determined the cause of the fire, but said it started in the back of the Whistle Stop, where charred and burned wood was visible from outside the building.

Firefighters from Newburyport used a tanker borrowed from Salisbury because the city's aging tanker was recently rendered unusable. They were quickly joined by trucks from Newbury, Byfield, Salisbury, Rowley, Amesbury and Seabrook.

However, they had to rely only on water from the tankers, as the hydrants in the area were frozen by the 23-degree temperature. Firefighters eventually found working hydrants after several minutes, but Cutter emphasized that the tanker trucks were able to provide water during the entire fire.

As some firefighters tried to find running water instead of ice, others chopped holes in the roof to stop the fire from spreading along the space underneath, Cutter said. Vitale said the fire and smoke damage went from end to end in the building, a small complex that housed the Whistle Stop, a cafe that was not in business, a salon and a laundry.

Sumner Miseheimer, who owns the Minuteman Press, which is next door to the Whistle Stop complex, said his business appeared to be undamaged. He praised firefighters for responding quickly and said the damage to the stores and people in them could have been much worse.

Cutter also said his and other firefighters did good work, and said with two firetrucks out of service and the department's only tanker on loan, mutual aid from other towns was even more important than usual.

While firefighters worked on the blaze, police prevented all traffic from coming into the traffic circle, except those heading north toward Newburyport on Route 1.

At the south end of State Street, vehicles traveling toward the traffic circle were forced to turn left at Parker Street and head toward Route 1A in Newbury. Those allowed into the traffic circle from the south were only permitted to skirt through the traffic circle's east side and take right-hand turns onto Parker Street. From the north on Route 1, traffic was stopped at the intersection of Route 1 and Low Street.

Despite the cold that froze water leaking from firetrucks in a matter of minutes, several dozen bystanders watched the scene, some filming and taking pictures. The building was still smoking as the sun went down, and firefighters used pikes to pry open overhangs and axes to smash windows to gain access to the businesses.

Investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are assisting Newburyport firefighters in the investigation, Cutter said. He expected the cause to be determined over the next few days. The chief indicated the fire is not being viewed as suspicious.

Photos

Newburyport firefighters attack a smoky fire at the complex housing the Whistle Stop convenience store and other businesses on Route 1 at the traffic circle yesterday afternoon. Staff photo

Newburyport firefighters use the ladder truck to attack a smoky fire at the complex housing the Whistle Stop convenience store and other businesses on Route 1 at the traffic circle yesterday afternoon. Staff photo

A local fire fighter unhooks a hose from a hydrant on State Street after yesterday's fire at the Whistle Stop Cafe at the traffic circle. Problems with the hydrants in the area meant that firefighters had to run hoses from State Street, and across the traffic circle, to fight the blaze. Staff photo

A group of firefighters meet outside the Whistle Stop Cafe at the Route 1 traffic circle after a fire broke out there around 5 p.m. The fire was quickly contained despite problems with the surrounding fire hydrants. Staff photo