By Neil W. McCabe

The city’s fire chief, along with the state’s fire marshal, announced Feb. 1 that the cause of the Jan. 29 fire at 504 Somerville Ave was probably was electrical. Investigators determined that the point of origin was a pinched extension cord in the bedroom of a rear apartment, said Somerville Fire Chief Kevin W. Kelleher.

The six-alarm fire started at

7:20 a.m.

at

that housed a barbershop and several apartments and extended to the apartment building next door at

, the chief said.

“I want to acknowledge the excellent fire suppression job the firefighters from Somerville and all the communities that provided mutual aid did. The severe winter conditions made fighting this fire more difficult,” he said.

“Indications are that smoke alarms alerted most residents of these buildings to danger; fortunately no civilians were injured,” he said.

Kelleher said, “Smoke alarms make the difference between life and death. Please make sure the smoke alarms in your home are working today because no one thinks fire will happen to them.”

“There have already been several fires this winter from pinched extension cords. When extension cords are under rugs, or pinched behind furniture, or bunched up, the likelihood of starting a fire is enormous,” said State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan.

A pinched extension cord, or one that is walked on, can create a short circuit that can eventually cause a fire, Coan said. “Extension cords are for temporary use only and are not designed to replace wiring inadequate for today’s modern electrical needs.”

Kelleher said the fire was jointly investigated by the Somerville Fire Department and State Police investigators in the Office of the State Fire Marshal

Electrical experts, boiler inspectors from the state Department of Public Safety and code compliance officers in the Office of the State Fire Marshal provided technical expertise to the fire investigation team, he said.

“This team investigation brought the necessary expertise together quickly and

accurately to determine the cause of this fire,” Coan said.