Fire rips through Chelsea triple-decker
By Ryan Kost, Globe Correspondent
A three-alarm fire tore through a Chelsea triple-decker this afternoon, sending four people to the hospital and leaving six families homeless.
At least seven fire departments responded to the blaze, which began around noon.
Timothy Follis, 24, who lived on the first floor of the Essex Street building said he heard an alarm go off and went to the third floor to investigate. When he reached the top of the stairs, he saw the flames.
He said he ran back downstairs and told a cousin to call 911.
Then Follis and his cousin went to the second floor to help his grandmother escape. The woman, who uses oxygen, was taken to the hospital as a precaution.The other three people who were transported suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Fire Chief Chuck Fothergill said.
Fothergill said the building would likely be a total loss. The cause of the fire was not yet determined.
"I don't know what to do next," said Follis as he watched firefighters battle the flames.
(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
