Fire damages Medford building, smokes out neighboring families

By Jeff Fish, Globe Correspondent

Two families were displaced in Medford after smoke from a nearby fire migrated to their building, according to the Medford Fire Department.

The two-alarm fire on 466 Salem St. started at about 6:10 a.m., according to the Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Ripley.

Although he’s not sure where exactly the fire originated, Ripley said “the main body of the fire appears to be in the middle” of the one-story building, where a Chinese restaurant is located. The restaurant is between an eyeglass shop and a beauty shop.

The smoke “migrated to the right [into a] 2 1/2-story dwelling,” said Ripley. There was “a lot of soot that needed to be cleaned. [It was] coming out of the eaves of that building.”

The Red Cross assisted the two families--four adults and two children--by giving them a hotel stay and emergency funds for food and clothing, according to a statement from the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts.

A fire captain was treated at Lawrence Memorial Hospital for a minor hand injury, said Ripley. The circumstances of the fire remain under investigation.