Three-alarm fire engulfs vehicles and house on Hancock Street early Tuesday morning

A second home also damaged in blaze; no one was injured and 2 residents got out of burning home safely

  A fast-moving fire engulfed a motor vehicle parked in a driveway, then quickly spread to an adjacent home at 51 Hancock Rd., destroying most of it before it was contained by firefighters from Malden and several surrounding communities. A second home, on the other side of the driveway at 53 Hancock Rd., was also extensively damaged by the three-alarm blaze when the intense flames melted much of the aluminum siding on the structure. The motor vehicle which originally caught fire was totally destroyed in the fire, as well as a second vehicle also parked in the driveway. A third vehicle was also heavily damaged in the blaze.

  The cause of the initial fire in the Linden neighborhood of Malden had not been determined as of Advocate press time. Investigators from the Malden Fire Department and State Fire Marshal’s office are investigating the blaze. According to reports the fire broke out at about 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday in a car parked between the two homes. It quickly spread to a second car, then to the first house adjacent to the driveway. No one was reported injured as a result of the fire, and officials reported that two residents of the house which caught fire were able to exit the home safely.

  Malden building inspectors were called to the scene early Tuesday morning to determine the structural soundness of the burned-out home.

  Firefighters from several surrounding communities were summoned for mutual aid either to assist in fighting the fire at the scene or covering other Malden stations during the blaze, including from Medford, Revere and Saugus.