Late-night Lynn fire leaps to nearby houses

Several families may be displaced

It took firefighters about 90 minutes to knock down the blaze that apparently started about 10 p.m. in a Lynn multifamily. (John Bohn/ Globe Staff)

LYNN - A three-alarm fire broke out in a home last night and quickly spread to at least two other houses in a densely populated residential neighborhood.

At least one multifamily house was thought to be a total loss; several families may have been displaced. It was unclear what sparked the blaze.

Firefighters from Lynn, Swampscott, Revere, and Peabody battled the blaze on Strawberry Avenue, which was reported around 10 p.m. and took firefighters about 90 minutes to extinguish. Two firefighters were taken to Union Hospital with what appeared to be smoke inhalation, said Lynn District Chief Rick Gecoy.

"Heavy fire was showing on arrival and then it spread," Gecoy said. "We were lucky to have wide streets to fight the fire from."

Firefighters began to get the blaze under control at 11 p.m., but it quickly flared back up along the roofline of a two-family wood-frame house on Boston Street, which runs parallel to Strawberry Avenue. Low clouds of smoke could be seen for several blocks.

James Phelan, 56, has lived in Lynn for 18 years with his wife and two daughters, 20 and 22. His house at 250 Boston St. was the third building damaged in the fire.

"I'm in shock," he said. "The lady across the way came over and rang my doorbell and said, 'Your house is on fire in the back.' "

Phelan said he hopes his family can return home. Several other families may not be as lucky.

According to neighbors, at least three families with children may have needed a place to stay overnight. Red Cross officials were on hand to help displaced residents.

Fire officials said the house at 21 Strawberry Ave., where the fire started, may be a total loss and that there was substantial damage to one of the houses on Boston Street.

Frank Casaletto, 55, who lives on Chester Place, several blocks from where the fire broke out, said he started to see and smell smoke from his living room at about 10 p.m.

"I was sitting in my living room and I could smell it," he said. "I said, 'Something's burning.' "

Firefighters were busy cleaning up from the blaze late last night. No details were available on injuries or displaced residents.