Police are seeing more firepower on our streets tied to tiny devices known as switches, giggle switches or machine gun conversion devices. It’s a troubling trend being used to quickly turn handguns into machine guns.
A switch is about the si…
Massachusetts
Fire damages home in Braintree
A home in Braintree, Massachusetts, caught fire early Friday morning.
The fire occurred just after midnight on Crawford Road.
Video of the scene shows extensive damage to the roof and siding of the home.
It wasn’t immediately known if anyone was injured or what caused the fire.
Fort Point residents divided over new migrant shelter
Residents in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston are still divided over the opening of a new emergency shelter in their neighborhood.
Gov. Maura Healey said it’s necessary with the state’s shelter system at capacity but some people living in the area continue to push back.
Resident will have an opportunity Friday to ask questions and address their concerns directly to a city liaison about the proposed migrant shelter on Farnsworth Street. This meeting follows Tuesday’s fiery community discussion between residents, elected officials and representatives from United Way.
“You’re telling me that from Boston to Stockbridge, there’s not a better location in this state? Are you kidding me?” asked a resident at Tuesday’s meeting.
Some Fort Point residents called on Healey to look for a more appropriate location to house the overflow of migrants.
The site on Farnsworth Street belongs to the Unitarian Universalist Association, and it’s working with United Way and the state to open a night shelter, after the state’s shelter system reached capacity in November with 7,500 families.
In the backdrop to this, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visited to the southern border, with Biden blaming Trump for killing a bipartisan deal to stem the flow of migrants, while Trump accused Biden of open border policies.
Healey weighing in earlier this week, linking the migrant crisis in Massachusetts to the failures in Washington.
“It’s really shameful that a deal was on the table, a deal that would’ve addressed and corrected so much of this and fixed a broken immigration system,” said Healey.
A community meeting with Mayor Michelle Wu’s liaison is taking place at Caffè Nero on Congress Street at 11:30 a.m. Friday, with another availability Monday morning.
Sunny and a bit warmer Friday, but showers return this weekend
Welcome to climatological spring! The cold is ousted Friday with a simple shift in the wind and a ton of March sun.
While the comeback won’t be remarkable, it will be respectable. We’ll aim for highs in the low and mid-40s Friday aftern…
Massive fire overnight at 43-room Oakhurst Manor in Northbridge
A massive fire caused extensive damage at the historic, 43-room Oakhurst Manor in Northbridge, Massachusetts, overnight.
According to the Grafton Fire Department, they responded to assist with the large fire at 120 Hill St. early Friday morning. When they arrived they said flames were already shooting from the roof of the mansion and the battle quickly turned into a defensive operation. Smoke continued to billow out from the roof as of 5 a.m.
The fire started at 1:04 a.m., Northbridge Fire Chief David White said. When firefighters arrived he said they found heavy fire in the second and third floors of the building.
“These buildings are old and very hard to put out. We went to a defensive attack quickly,” he said.
At one point, White said the roof of the building collapsed.
The fire was declared under control around 5:45 a.m., but firefighters were still continuing to douse hot spots.
“It’s a historic building, as you can tell,” White said. “It’s one of the old mansions in town. It does have a little value there.”
No injuries were reported, White said. The extent of the damage is not yet known but he said he doesn’t think the building will be a total loss.
About seven residents were believed to have been living in the building, White said, and all of them got out safely and are staying in another structure on the back side of the property as they await next steps.
Photos shared by the Grafton Fire Department showed a huge fire response, with numerous ladder trucks surrounding the building and flames and heavy smoke coming from the roof.
The mansion, also known as the Whitin Lasell Estate, is located in Whitinsville, a village within the town of Northbridge.
According to the Worcester Telegram, the 20,000-square-foot mansion sold in 2021 for $1.35 million. The property was once operated by the Catholic Archdiocese as the Oakhurst Retreat, but now serves as Estate of Mind, an event center that allows artists to showcase their talents and work on their crafts. Several events planned at the facility on Friday have been canceled, according an updated posted to their website.
“Due to a fire early this morning at Oakhurst Manor, all events on Friday March 1st are cancelled,” Estate of Mind owner Victoria Dobbs said in the update.
“We are relieved to report that all residents & guests who were inside the manor exited safely and there are no known injuries at the time of posting,” she said. “The cause of the fire and scope of the damage remain to be determined.”
Dobbs assured anyone with upcoming visits or events scheduled that they will be reaching out with information on next steps and additional details as soon as they have time.
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Wind rips off part of Gardner Fire Department’s roof
Security footage captured part of a Massachusetts fire station’s roof being blown off early Thursday morning as heavy winds whipped.
The Gardner Fire Department shared video Thursday showing a piece of standing seam metal roof flying out of p…
