‘Nothing was recognizable’: Norwell woman loses decades of memories in devastating house fire

NORWELL, Mass. — Two people have been displaced after a house fire in Norwell early Thursday morning.

That includes Lisa Sylvester and her partner Rick.

Sylvester said around 2 a.m., there was a power surge at the house that woke them up. They went back to sleep but about an hour and a half later Rick woke Lisa up, screaming to get out.

“I tried to get my phone, tried to find a phone to call 911, I knew I was losing time and I lost the time to even grab pants,” said Sylvester. By the time they got outside, she said, “I saw the level it was already at and I knew it was gone.”

Fire crews had to work through tough conditions to extinguish the fire at the home on Upper Ferry Road.

The house was a dream home for Sylvester, which she said she bought when she was 20.

She said, “I lost all my children’s childhood pictures. Everything I had, everything, 58 years of life was in there. They said nothing was recognizable.”

Decades ago, Sylvester said she fell in love with the home and became friends with the homeowner. Eventually, she bought it from them and filled it with memories of her own.

“You can’t rebuild that. It’s not rebuildable, it’s not like you can go to Home Depot and get the parts that were in that house. Everything was custom, everything was special, everything was unique,” she said. “I did it frugally and carefully over 30 years.”

The Norwell Fire Department was joined by Scituate and Hanover to provide mutual aid for the fire.

Hoses were hooked up down the street to get enough water to the house.

“It’s about a third of a mile off the main road so it was a man-power-intensive operation,” said Norwell Fire Chief David Kean.

Chief Kean said the fire possibly started outside but no cause is known at this time.

No one was injured from the fire but Sylvester is left with nothing.

“I don’t even have socks like I don’t have a hairbrush. Where do you start? Like my wallet went up. I didn’t even have time to grab my pocketbook. I don’t even have a driver’s license. I don’t have a credit card. I don’t have my eyeglasses, my medication. Which do you do, like how do people do this?” said Sylvester.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office is also investigating.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Lisa and he partner Rick.

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