Fatal Gloucester fire destroys apartment building, synagogue

One person killed in the blaze

An 8-alarm fire ripped through an apartment building on Middle St. In Gloucester early this morning, killing one. A synagogue, Temple Ahavat Achim, was also destroyed in the fire. (Globe Staff / John Blanding)

GLOUCESTER—A massive eight-alarm fire destroyed an apartment building and synagogue in the historic heart of downtown Gloucester early this morning, killing one person. Officials did not identity the victim and said the cause of the blaze had not been determined. All of the other residents of the apartment building were accounted for.

The first alarm came in at 11:46 p.m. last night, and the four-story apartment building at 80 Middle St., which has about 30 units, became engulfed in flames and collapsed. The fire spread to Temple Ahavat Achim at 86 Middle St., and both buildings, which sat less than 50 feet from the Fire Department headquarters and less than 500 feet from CIty Hall, were left in embers.

At least 17 agencies responded to the fire, which was still smoldering at 11 a.m. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries when they slipped on the ice, but they were treated and released.

Edward Herman Jr., a tenant in the apartment building, said he was lucky to get out alive. He said he saw his neighbor hanging outside the third-floor window as flames leapt from the bulding. Firefighters attempted to get a ladder to reach the man, but they were too late, and Herman said the man disappeared from view.

"Firefighters were yelling to him to put his head out the window," Herman said. "By the time they got to him, he had fallen back in" the building.

Fire Chief Barry McKay confirmed that one person was dead, but did not identify the victim. He said the Fire Department planned to publicize a phone number later today that people could call to report any missing persons.

He said the cause of the fire had not been determined.

Mayor John Bell said he was asleep at his home, not far from downtown Gloucester, when he awoke to see flames through his bedroom window. He rushed to the scene and found the two buildings ablaze.

"We almost lost downtown tonight," he told firefighters at the station at 4:30 a.m.

McKay said that despite firefighters' best efforts, they were unable to save the Torah in the synagogue. Trinity Congregational Church, which was also across the street from the apartment complex, was threatened by the flames but survived unscathed.

McKay said he feared for firefighters' safety when they ran into the apartment building after the man who had been hanging out the window disappeared from view.

"They barely came out themselves," he said of the firefighters. "Those were herculean efforts."

Rabbi Samuel Barth said Temple Ahavat Achim has about 220 families as members and has been a part of the Gloucester community for a century.

"The heart of the community is the people," he said. "People will get together and cry, but the heart and soul of this community is still strong."

For much of the early morning, fiery sparks floated through the smoke-filled air, raining down on firefighters and spectators. The wooden beams of the synagogue, which used to be a church, glowed red long after the roof of the building had collapsed.

Meredith Clemons, 30, said she came home from work to find the streets blocked and smoke streaming from the apartment building, where she lives. "I ran in and got my dog myself," she said of her Jack Russell terrier. "After that, I saw flames from every floor."

Neighbors lost power and officials evacuated an elderly complex nearby. The Red Cross opened a shelter at the Fuller School.

Michael Tarantino, who lives a few blocks from the fire, said he had never seen anything like it. "The ash flowed down on us," he said. "It was raining down."

"I've been praying," said Peter Cusenza, of 8 Mason St., who came home from work to find the building across the street engulfed in flames.

"A woman was standing out in front of the building, screaming to her husband, 'Get out, get out.' ."

The building appeared to be an old factory-type building that had been rehabilitated into at least 30 apartment units.

Teams of firefighters were trying to save nearby buildings, as evacuated residents watched from a Gloucester Fire Department building across the street. Flames could be seen shooting from the building, and firefighters sprayed water from multiple angles, from ladder trucks and from the ground level.

Massive plumes of thick, black smoke emanated from the building, and red embers danced through the night sky.

Michael Tarantino watched from across the street, and described how the top floors of the building were crumbling.

"The crazy part is all of the ash was falling down on us," he said. "It was just raining down. I had to put my hood on."

Andrew Pearce left from a neighborhood bar to see the wall of the massive building crumbling.

"We saw flames, it was just up in flames," he said. "Then a wall fell in."

Milton J. Valencia of the Globe contributed to this report.