Nicole Fleming for The Boston Globe
The aftermath of the fire at 138 Cross St.
By Nicole Fleming Globe Correspondent July 23, 2016
LOWELL —A four-alarm fire at an apartment house on Cross Street early Saturday morning displaced more than 30 people from their homes and injured three, including a firefighter, officials said.
The fire at 138 Cross St., in the city’s Acre neighborhood, was discovered by firefighters who were fighting a fire on Merrimack Street and spotted smoke coming from the roof of the house, said Deputy Fire Chief Tom Gilligan.
The fire began around 4:45 a.m. and took until about noon to fully extinguish, he said.
Gilligan said that 33 to 35 people were displaced by the blaze, which caused heavy damage to the building. “If it’s not a total loss, it’s pretty close,” he said.
The hot, humid air exacerbated the difficult conditions and a “bit more manpower” was required to fight the blaze, Gilligan said.
A firefighter was injured when part of a chimney collapsed into a room and hit the back of her head. She was treated and released, Gilligan said.
Two people inside the three-story building were also injured, he said. Information on the extent of the injuries was not immediately available. Firefighters were able to save two cats from an apartment, Gilligan said.
A preliminary investigation indicates that the fire began in the right rear of the building, he said.
Fire alarms sounded in some of the nine units in the building, Gilligan said.
No cause has been officially determined yet, said Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the Office of the State Fire Marshal.