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30 Homeless, 2 Hurt In Triple-Decker Fire
High Winds, Rain Hamper Firefighting Efforts
POSTED: 5:32 am EST November 25,
2008
UPDATED: 2:39 pm EST November 25,
2008
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- It is still unclear what caused a raging fire to break out in a Cambridge neighborhood of triple decker homes early Tuesday, forcing dozens of residents out into a rainy, windy night and sending two people to the hospital.Firefighters battled the fierce blaze fanned by high winds for about four hours after getting two elderly residents out of their Prince Street triple-decker early Tuesday.
VideoThe five-alarm blaze broke out in the rear of 27 Prince Street before 4 a.m., and quickly spread, threatening nearby houses in the densely populated neighborhood."I was asleep and suddenly was woken up by hearing someone screaming, 'Help, help, help'" neighbor Barbara Steenstrup said. "I grabbed my coat and my boots and I ran outside."What she heard were the cries of an elderly couple on the top floor who were trapped by the blaze. Firefighters rescued both, one by ladder and the other through the stairwell. They were rushed to the hospital, one conscious and one only semi-conscious."One of them is probably more serious than the other," Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald Reardon said. He said three firefighters were also injured fighting the blaze."My daughter woke us up at 3:30 in the morning saying, 'There's a fire next door, get up right now, let's go,'" Michael Shy said. He looked out the window, "to see our neighbor's house in flames. It was just ... horrible.""I see a big red ball of fire. I came running down. The whole back of the building was, more or less, up on fire," another witness said.The flames were spread by heavy winds, and an adjoining triple-decker also caught fire. Several others were also damaged. It took three hours to get the fire under control."Wind keeps shifting. As you can see it's covering smoke and then 30 seconds later it goes the other direction," Cambridge Police spokesman Frank Pasquarello said as crews worked to douse the flames.Fire officials said it may be several days before they are able to determine how the fire started. Two days before Thanksgiving, they estimated about 30 people are now without a home.
VideoThe five-alarm blaze broke out in the rear of 27 Prince Street before 4 a.m., and quickly spread, threatening nearby houses in the densely populated neighborhood."I was asleep and suddenly was woken up by hearing someone screaming, 'Help, help, help'" neighbor Barbara Steenstrup said. "I grabbed my coat and my boots and I ran outside."What she heard were the cries of an elderly couple on the top floor who were trapped by the blaze. Firefighters rescued both, one by ladder and the other through the stairwell. They were rushed to the hospital, one conscious and one only semi-conscious."One of them is probably more serious than the other," Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald Reardon said. He said three firefighters were also injured fighting the blaze."My daughter woke us up at 3:30 in the morning saying, 'There's a fire next door, get up right now, let's go,'" Michael Shy said. He looked out the window, "to see our neighbor's house in flames. It was just ... horrible.""I see a big red ball of fire. I came running down. The whole back of the building was, more or less, up on fire," another witness said.The flames were spread by heavy winds, and an adjoining triple-decker also caught fire. Several others were also damaged. It took three hours to get the fire under control."Wind keeps shifting. As you can see it's covering smoke and then 30 seconds later it goes the other direction," Cambridge Police spokesman Frank Pasquarello said as crews worked to douse the flames.Fire officials said it may be several days before they are able to determine how the fire started. Two days before Thanksgiving, they estimated about 30 people are now without a home. Copyright 2008 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
