[editor's note: Funsickle is an esteemed photo contributor/researcher to the site. He was only in PVD for the summer anyway. The site is not going anywhere (the three editors are still here—and fighting the powers that be), but we've lost a valuable on-the-ground contributor/recon-man (/team; funny had an accomplice) - STUMP BLANKENSHIP]

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Pictured: five abandoned structures at the intersection of Hyat St and Koussuth St in Providence, RI. From left to right 51 Hyat, 47 Hyat, 43 Hyat, 71 Kossuth, and 63 Kossuth.

Myles has previously been over in this area before. I recognized the street name when I saw the news report pop up on the Providence Journal(/Providence Pamphlet). He was not wrong in calling it one of the roughest/sketchiest parts of town. I haven’t spent much time in Olneyville, but the flea market itself suggests many adventures to be found.

A week after the fire that gutted 43 Hyat and partially torched 47 Hyat, the air still smelled of wood ash and burnt vinyl siding. Three fire fighters received minor injuries during the blaze. It took 50 of them to put it out.

Sadly, this exact intersection was the site of a press conference held by Providence Mayor David Cicilline just five weeks ago announcing two new foreclosure prevention initiatives.

Too late to save this block.

ProJo fire story and video from the press conferences below.

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Arson suspected in Providence fires
ProJo 03/10/09

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, March 10, 2009

By Kate Bramson and Cynthia Needham

Journal Staff Writers

PROVIDENCE — Fires Sunday night that engulfed two vacant houses in Olneyville and injured three firefighters were deemed suspicious and are under investigation, according to Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Crowley.

Fire was reported at 43 Hyat St. and 47 Hyat St. at 9:30 p.m., Crowley said. Fire was more involved in the building at 43 Hyat St., on the corner of Hyat and Kossuth streets, Crowley said.

One firefighter remained in Rhode Island Hospital yesterday morning for cardiac-related care, Crowley said. He was expected to be released yesterday. The other two firefighters fell through stairs and were treated for contusions and sprains at Roger Williams Medical Center, Crowley said.

Crowley said the approximately 50 firefighters who responded to the blazes “did a tremendous job holding [the fire] to those two houses.” The volume of fire and its proximity to other houses in the area, he said, required that many firefighters — about half of the on-duty firefighters in the city.

The fires were near another vacant house and across the street from the William D’Abate Elementary School, at 60 Kossuth St., Crowley said.

With two fires next door to each other, it would ordinarily appear that fire in one extended to the other building, Crowley said. Although that did happen, with the fire at 43 Hyat St. more heavily involved and extending to 47 Hyat St., Crowley said fire actually broke out on multiple floors of both buildings at approximately the same time.

“They are definitely suspicious, and we expect incendiaries to be the causes,” he said yesterday morning.

Neighbors said they watched one of the houses on Hyat Street go up in flames just after 9:30 p.m. Both were believed to have been vacant for several months.

Crowley said no one was living in either building, and they were empty at the time of the fires.

Tony Walker, 19, was walking to a nearby convenience store when he spotted the fire. He ran to the front door of the first house and banged loudly on the door to see if anyone was inside. That house, and the one next to it, appeared empty and the smoke was overwhelming, so Walker backed off and yelled to others on the street to call 911.

Firefighters swarmed the scene. They were able to enter 47 Hyat St. and fight the fire from within the building, but at 43 Hyat St., they needed to knock the fire down from outside before they could enter the building, Crowley said.

By 10:30 p.m. the fires in both structures were extinguished.

The city’s fire prevention bureau and arson investigator were investigating the fires, Crowley said.

Also Sunday evening, around 5:30 p.m., firefighters extinguished a burning truck inside a truck-repair facility located at 90 Reservoir Ave., next to a rental storage facility, Crowley said.

cneedham@projo.com
—

Hat tip to civilian commentor data geek over at the ProJo

“Oddly enough, these buildings happen to be the backdrop when the Mayor made his foreclosure presentation. Even more strange was the inspector checking out these same building at the exact time the TV camera were rolling.”

I had to go find those videos. Didn’t take long.

—
Press Conference Video From Same Corner

The house directly to the rear of Cicillini is part of 43 Hyat.

All of this, of course, is right across the street from William D’Abate Elementary School.

Update May 2009
43 Hyat was scraped by the city in early May. I wonder why this house came down sooner than many other gutted fire damaged homes.

* demo photos taken by Jessica Vega and submitted by Jean C. Thanks much!

No houses yet photographed. Take a picture if you find one.

6th worst foreclosure rate

Highest state government budget deficit per capita

video & story

No houses yet photographed. Take a picture if you find one.