Police suspect arson after house fire in North End

A fire that ripped through a North End house yesterday morning, leaving one man homeless, is being investigated as a suspected arson.

Firefighters were called to 677 Burrows Ave. shortly before 7:55 a.m. after a blaze broke out in the upper suite of the two-story home.

Henry Kipling said he was sleeping in his main-floor suite when the fire broke out.

"All of a sudden there was a fireman standing over me saying 'Get out,' " he said.

Kipling, who rented the suite, was taken to Health Sciences Centre and treated for smoke inhalation. He returned to the house a few hours later and inspected the damage alongside fire officials.

"He said five more minutes and I would have been dead," Kipling said of one investigator. "What if I didn't wake up? What if the fire department wasn't here?"

The blaze caused $90,000 damage. The city's arson strike force and the Office of the Fire Commissioner are investigating.

"All my s--- is soaked. Everything is gone," said Kipling, adding the fire is the latest incident in a string of bad luck for him. "I got broken into two weeks ago and three days ago they kicked in my garage."

Kipling said he had no insurance for his belongings. He had been planning to buy the house from his landlord.

"I was actually going to go to the bank next week," he said. "We were going to get the wheels in motion."

The house's owner, who identified herself as Mrs. Hameed but wouldn't give her first name, said fire officials told her the blaze was definitely caused by arson.

"They think the fire started in the sofa," she said, adding fire officials also said the upstairs suite hadn't been broken into.

Hameed said the woman who lived in the upstairs suite recently left the home after falling several months behind in her rent. Hameed said the woman threatened her when she tried to turn off the heat a couple weeks ago.

"She said you haven't seen anything yet," Hameed said.

Hameed said she has owned the home for more than 30 years and spent more than $20,000 renovating it last year.\