Thursday, 4:30 PM
Worcester firefighters pluck residents from balconies of burning building
By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent
Firefighters rescued as many as six people trapped on the balconies of their burning condominium complex in Worcester overnight as a three-alarm blaze left more than two dozen people homeless.
"Heavy fire was blowing out of the second floor," said District Chief Frank Diliddo of the Worcester Fire Department. "People were waiting to be rescued on their balconies, unable to escape."
Those rescued from the three-story building included several children. Two residents were taken to hospitals, one for smoke inhalation and the other for minor injuries suffered in a leap from a second-floor window, Diliddo said.
The fire ignited at 12:45 a.m. in a bedroom on the second floor of the building on Whipple Street. Alarms in hallways did not sound, and residents were not awakened until firetrucks arrived, which delayed the evacuation of the building, Diliddo said.
"There was a lot of yelling and screaming," Diliddo said. "A lot of commotion and panic."
However Reggie Adair, a trustee for the condo association, said that the alarms in the hallway were operating and woke up residents.
Investigators are trying to determine what caused the fire, which left the 30-unit building uninhabitable. The Red Cross opened a temporary shelter for residents.
