Fire breaks out at historic mansion undergoing renovations in Newton

NEWTON, Mass. — A fire broke out Wednesday at a historic mansion that had been undergoing renovations in Newton.

Crews responding to the area of 8 Central Avenue in the city’s Newtonville village were greeted by flames shooting from the roof of a large Victorian-style home.

Video from the scene showed several fire trucks blocking the neighborhood and firefighters on ladders dousing the blaze with water as thick smoke billowed out of the structure and consumed the area.

The mansion had fallen into a state of disrepair years ago and recent efforts to renovate the property were nearly complete, according to Robert DeSantis, a lifelong neighborhood resident who was biking by when he spotted the flames.

“This house, when I was young, was a beautiful mansion,” DeSantis said. “Five years ago, it started getting really bad. Then finally, a few years ago, they started doing work on it. It was almost a hundred percent complete.”

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Newton fire

Property records indicate the 4,777-square-foot, seven-bedroom home was built in 1884 and recently sold in 2021. It has a value of $2,095,328.

“It’s really sad because I was really happy to see it come back close to how I saw it when I was young driving around the neighborhood with my father,” DeSantis added.

Newton police have asked the public to avoid the area due to the large emergency response.

There was no immediate word on injuries as a result of the blaze.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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