Features

Two-alarm blaze 

A heat lamp used to keep a lizard comfortable in an Ashby Avenue apartment apparently caused a two-alarm fire early Wednesday that did heavy damage to one apartment and led to water damage to the unit below. 

Deputy Fire Chief David Orth said the fire at 1931 Ashby Ave. was reported at 1:24 a.m., and firefighters arrived to find the upper unit in the two-residence building spouting flames. 

A second alarm was sounded because the structure was close to another building, Orth said. 

Five engines and two trucks responded to the blaze, along with an ambulance. 

Firefighters returned to the scene several hours later after a small fire burst out in an area of the roof firefighters had been unable to reach. The flames were quickly doused. 

Orth said the fire displaced four or five residents. 

Arson suspected 

Firefighters were summoned to 821 Acton St. at 6:58 a.m. that same morning, where they found a bed afire. 

The fire was rapidly extinguished after doing about a thousand dollars of damage to the structure and $500 to its contents. 

Orth said that because of an ongoing investigation, the only thing he could say about the cause of the fire was that it was suspicious.f