By VINAYA SAKSENA

CENTRAL FALLS — A fire that ripped through a three-story tenement building Tuesday night may have been triggered by the attempted theft of copper piping.

Local firefighters, with backup from several communities, responded to a house fire at 53-55 Hendricks St. at approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday night, said Deputy Fire Chief Gerard Dion. Two injured firefighters were treated the scene. No other injuries were reported. The building was recently vacated, Dion said.
“The fire started in the basement,” the deputy chief said. “It appears that someone was stealing copper out of the building. There are pipes that are missing and a broken gas line.” Due to that gas line, considerable time and manpower was devoted to knocking down the blaze.
The thief or thieves made a mess, Dion said, referring to broken and bent piping and a water heater that had been knocked over. Officials believe the fire started when flame from a functioning water heater ignited gas from a broken pipe.
Dion said the building was a 3.5-story housing unit with a wooden frame that, like many other buildings in the city, was likely between 80 and 100 years old. He said the three-alarm fire appeared to have traveled from the basement up the building’s chimney.
Firefighter support came from Saylesville and Albion in Lincoln, and Valley Falls in Cumberland, along with Pawtucket, Providence and North Providence. Dion said a Central Falls firefighter suffered a hand laceration and a neck burn, while a Pawtucket firefighter sustained a foot injury.
Dion stressed that containing the fire was a high priority given its proximity to other buildings He also said the area may have become a target for copper thefts since several buildings were abandoned and boarded up fairly recently.
“There are several right in that area,” Dion said. “There were no residents in that house. From what we’ve been told, the building had been vacant for about two weeks.”
Dion said 53-55 Hendricks St. was considered a total loss, and would likely be razed on Thursday. No suspects have been identified.