Stevens Street blaze as seen from Winter Street.
Two witnesses, each with information about the teens accused of starting a seven-alarm blaze at a factory building on Stevens Street in 2015, will be honored and receive rewards Thursday morning at the Water Street Fire Station.
Ron Meehan, of Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting, also known as the FAIR Plan, will present rewards as part of the Arson Watch Reward Program, said Jennifer Mieth, public information officer for state Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey.
“One witness walking home from a store saw and videoed the fire in its earliest stage and also saw three of the four teens ultimately convicted of setting the fire. The second witness heard information at school about who had set the blaze and came forward,” Ostroskey’s office said.
Nineteen fire departments, including Haverhill, contained the flames Sunday, Sept.20, 2015, at the former Hudson Machinery Company, 14-30 Stevens St., Haverhill. over a 24-hour span.
Besides Meehan and Ostroskey, those expected to attend Thursday’s ceremonies are State Police Detective Lt. Paul Zipper, commanding officer, Fire and Explosion Investigation Section; Haverhill Fire Chief William F. Laliberty; and other city officials.
A second presentation at 11 a.m., at Lawrence Fire Headquarters, 65 Lowell St., similarly honors a witness to a 2016 fire at a six-story brick mill building that caused $100,000 in damage.
“The witness in the Lawrence case was a formerly homeless woman who helped to arrest a serial arsonist who was charged with setting two car fires, a house fire, the mill fire and two dumpster fires,” a statement said.