Fire hits Vernon Street home
By Andrea Gregory

Steve Moreira stood behind the yellow, plastic banner that police had tacked up to secure the area. It was New Year’s Day. and it was not how Moreira imagined starting the year.
  ‚ÄúIt‚Äôs tough,‚Äù he said, watching firemen rush in and out of his house.

  The fire started on the third floor of the three-family home at 19 Vernon St. Moreira said he has owned the building since 1979, and he now lives on the top floor. He said he went only went out to grab a coffee from Dunkin Donuts. When he came home, he could see the smoke, he said.
  According to Moreira, his tenants living in one of the units below him had tried to bust down his door after it became apparent that there was a fire in his apartment. Moreira said their attempt to get in without a key was unsuccessful and damaged the door so that when he finally tried his key it did not work either. The fire department was called and quickly responded.
  ‚ÄúI was gone for not even an hour,‚Äù Moreria said from the sidewalk across the street. He said he had left an electric space-heater plugged in, but did not know if it had anything to due with the fire. Moreira said he was not sure how much damage the fire had done to his home. He said the only thing he knew was destroyed for sure was a stained glass window that he watched the firemen break to vent the apartment.
  District Fire Chief Peter St. Clair said the two-alarm fire started in the rear of the third-floor apartment, where the kitchen is located. The fire spread into the attic. Firefighters carefully raised a ladder to the roof, avoiding several utility wires.
  ‚ÄúIt‚Äôs really important to get the roof open in an attic fire because you have to be able to vent (the smoke),‚Äù he said.
  According to St.Clair, it took approximately a half hour to put out the fire. Flames were never visible from the outside of the building, but when the trucks pulled up, workers could see the smoke.
  St.Clair said a total of six people live in the building where Somerville‚Äôs first fire of the year occurred. He said gas and electric for the building were shut off, and that none of the building‚Äôs residents were going to be able to stay there. He said he did not know when they would be able to return.
  Just before taking Moreira inside for his first view of his home since the fire was extinguished, St.Clair said the Red Cross was expected to show up soon and help find the displaced residents places to stay.
  The property recently made headlines when Scott Trant, a Somerville Police office, took advantage of his authority and tried to purchase the property for a very low price. Trant has since admitted his wrong doings to the Massachusetts Ethics Commission and lost his job.
  The cause of the fire is still under investigation.