Fire damages boyhood home of Sen. Paul Tsongas

LOWELL, Mass.—The boyhood home of former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate Paul Tsongas was severely damaged in a three-alarm fire.

Lowell Fire Department Deputy Chief Jeff Winward said investigators think Thursday’s fire was started by a carelessly discarded cigarette.

The nine residents of the three-story building on Highland Street escaped without injury. Winward said one firefighter was treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation.

Winward said the fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damage and left the building uninhabitable. The building is divided into five condominiums.

Tsongas, a Democrat, ran for president in 1992. He died in 1997.