5 BOSTON JAKES INJURED AT 6TH ALARM FIRE
July 23, 2016
Five firefighters were treated and released from the hospital Thursday after battling a vicious six-alarm fire.
Boston firefighters battled the blaze in sweltering heat for several hours, reported the Boston Globe.
The fire broke out in the back of a brick and wood duplex before spreading to an apartment building next door, leaving millions of dollars worth of damage.
“It’s a very stubborn fire. The heat’s been a problem for us,” Boston Fire Commissioner Joe Finn said.
At one point, two firefighters that had jumped from one rooftop to another could not be located, and a mayday call was dispatched. The two were found unharmed.
Officials have not determined the cause of fire.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh praised the firefighters, stating he was, “very proud of the work the Boston Fire Department has done.”
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2 Charlestown buildings destroyed in 6-alarm fire
Jim Davis/Globe Staff
A multi-alarm fire struck multiple buildings on Bunker Hill Street Thursday afternoon.
By Miguel Otarola and Evan Allen Globe Correspondent and Globe Staff July 21, 2016
Ellen Braaten stood in front of her burning home on Bunker Hill Street in Charlestown and wiped tears from her eyes. Her son had called her in a panic, she said — he’d come up the stairs to find the side porch in flames, and then heard an explosion. He fled, she said, screaming “Fire!”
She rushed home from work to find her street choked with thick brown smoke, her building and the one next to it in ruins.
“I’ve lost everything,” she said.
Boston firefighters battled the six-alarm fire in scorching heat for several hours Thursday afternoon, beating back flames that neighbors said leapt in a fireball from one building to another, causing what fire officials estimated was millions of dollars worth’ of damage.
The blaze broke out at 1:45 p.m. Thursday in back of a four-story brick and wood duplex at Bunker Hill and Sackville streets, said Boston Fire Commissioner Joe Finn. The flames spread to the three-unit apartment building next door, fire officials said, leaving both buildings in ruins. Some surrounding buildings were also damaged superficially, Finn said.
“It’s a very stubborn fire,” Finn said at a press conference just past 4 p.m. in front of the scene, where thick brown smoke still billowed in the air and embers still burned in the basements of the buildings. “The heat’s been a problem for us.”
For a brief moment in the chaos, two firefighters who had apparently leapt from one rooftop to another could not be found, triggering a mayday call. The firefighters were found safe.
Five firefighters were treated and released from area hospitals for a variety of injuries, said Steve MacDonald, a fire department spokesman.
No civilians were reported injured. At least 32 people were displaced from their homes. Investigators had not determined the cause of the fire as of Thursday night, MacDonald said.
Karen Stillman-Carey, who lives across the street, said she was coming from lunch when her brother yelled there was a fire. When she turned to look, she said, she saw “a big ball of fire” that appeared to be coming from the roof of one building. Firefighters who were already on scene began screaming, “Run! Get in your houses!” she said, as black debris rained down from the sky.
Mary Howell, 40, who grew up across the street from the building that caught fire, said she was in the area when the fire broke out at Bunker Hill and Sackville streets.
“It’s really bad,” she said. “I went down to look at it, but they’re kicking us all out because the smoke is so bad. One house is completely gone, basically collapsed. Another one is basically gone. Two others are on fire.”
She said many people parked their cars behind the building so that may have inhibited firefighters’ approach.
A crowd of spectators gathered in front of nearby St. Francis De Sales church.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he was “very proud of the work the Boston Fire Department has done.”
“They were here fast, and they potentially avoided a lot of problems,” Walsh said.