Small fire closes Elm Street block

MILFORD- A block of Elm Street was closed for a half-hour Thursday afternoon when a spark from a welding torch caused a small fire in an old barn that houses Beaver Woodworks.

No one was injured in the blaze at 76 Elm St., where renovations are continuing on a three-story barn behind an old Victorian house that holds rental apartments.

The fire was quickly extinguished, and apparently did minimal damage to the barn, or to the furniture inside.

A workman said the fire was started by sparks from a welding torch being used on a fire escape in the back of the building. Workmen doused it, but because of concern about fire escaping unseen through the old barn walls, they called the Milford Fire Department.
A block of Elm Street, from Keyes Field to West Street, had to be closed because fire hoses were stretched across the street from a hydrant.