Four dead in Fall River fire

FALL RIVER -- Four women died and at least 15 other people suffered injuries last night in a fire that tore through a three-story building where members of the city's Portuguese community were gathered for a festival, officials said.

The fast-moving three-alarm blaze began at about 7:30 p.m. at 228 County St., an apartment building with a first-floor function hall. Fire officials are investigating whether a fallen candle ignited the fire during a religious ceremony, said Bristol District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr.

``It appears to be accidental," Walsh said.

Onlookers described a shocking scene. By the time firefighters arrived, the building was fully engulfed in flames, and several people were trapped inside.

``People were screaming, `Please help, please help, open this door,' " and people were outside trying to open it, said Jonathan Farias , 21, who lives five houses from the scene. ``A lady ran out screaming and crying, a lot of pain on her face. Her arms and face were completely burned."

Authorities did not identify the four victims last night.

But Jose DaCosta, president of the St. John's Holy Ghost Club, identified two of them as his sister-in-law, Emiliana Carvalho, 80, and her niece, Isabel Raposo, 70.

The victims were found on the first floor in the kitchen area of the function hall, Walsh said. Authorities are unsure whether they were in the kitchen when the fire started or whether some ran into the kitchen after the fire started to alert others, he said.

Walsh said investigators are looking into whether a candle ignited a large ceremonial tray that had tissue paper hanging from it.

``It's the worst fire since I've been mayor in the last 10 years," said Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. , who was at the scene last night. ``Any fire with one fatality is a tragedy. This is something that's going to rock the entire community."

The injured were taken to area hospitals, officials said, and one was flown to a Boston hospital.

Late last night, a spokeswoman at St. Anne's Hospital in Fall River said two adults bad been treated and released, one adult had been transferred to another facility, and a child had been transferred to another hospital.

At Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, a spokeswoman said of seven people brought there, one was treated and transferred in serious condition. Two people were admitted and in fair condition. Four were treated and released.

Several hours after the fire, crowds of people were on their balconies speculating on how many people died and asking what had happened. Emergency trucks lined both sides of the street, and yellow tape blocked off the street for half a block.

The building is in the densely populated Flint neighborhood, a formerly French section of Fall River where many immigrants live.

Lambert said that the annual feast is an elaborate affair that includes a traditional Portuguese meal and a procession to their church, and he added that it is a fund-raiser for the Our Lady of Light Society.

Wasley Fernando Lena , 28, a Brazilian immigrant who lives on the second floor of the building, said he was sitting at his computer when he heard ``a strong explosion" on the first floor.

``I see a lot of black smoke outside, and I see a lot of windows broke," he said.

He said someone yelled, ``Get out!" and he grabbed his 55-year-old mother and two friends who were in the apartment. They ran down the smoke-filled stairs, he said, and saw the windows blown out and blackened.

The building's beige-colored walls were blackened from smoke, and Lena said he fears his apartment is destroyed.

Neighbor David Martin, 31, told the Associated Press he saw a man run out of the building with his shirt on fire. The man screamed that his wife was trapped inside, and he tried to run back into the building before he was stopped by firefighters, Martin said.

Maria Pavo also said Carvalho died in the fire. Pavo said relatives from as far away as California came to celebrate Carvalho's birthday Sunday at the Venus de Milo banquet hall in Swansea.

A 22-year-old man from Fall River, who would only give his first name, Jonathan, said two of his aunts were injured in the fire. He said one suffered second- and third-degree burns on her arm and the other's hair was burned.

DaCosta said several children were in the basement when the fire started, but that the children heard the commotion and ran out into the street. ``This was my whole family," DaCosta said.

Deputy Fire Chief William Silvia said firefighters from Somerset, Westport, and Tiverton, R.I., helped local crews.

At the scene late last night, City Councilor Raymond E. Hague , chairman of the city's Public Safety Committee, said the flames were extinguished two hours after the fire began.

``It's pretty grim," he said. ``It's putrid. The smell of charred wood is in the air."

Brian R. Ballou of the Globe staff and Globe correspondents Richard Cherecwich, Hailey Heinz, and Stephanie Peters contributed to this report.