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A firefighter eyed damage at 60 Seymour St. from a blaze sparked on a rear porch. (Pat Greenhouse/ Globe Staff) |
2 hurt, 30 displaced in Roslindale fire
Candle blamed for blaze that struck 2 buildings
A candle left burning on a Roslindale porch ignited a blaze yesterday morning that engulfed one three-decker and damaged the rear of another, displacing about 30 people and causing an estimated $600,000 in damage, according to fire officials at the scene.
The fire started at about 8:40 a.m. when the unattended candle ignited a couch on a first-floor rear porch at 60 Seymour St., said District Chief Robert Dunderdale of the Boston Fire Department. The fire spread through all three floors of the recently renovated building, then jumped across an alley and damaged the rear porches at 149 Rowe St.
It took about one hour to put the fire out, said Dunderdale. Firefighters endured “tough, hot conditions’’ caused by the day’s sweltering heat, he said. By 9:30 a.m. the temperature already was above 80 degrees.
“We’ve got over 60 pounds of equipment on,’’ Dunderdale said, gesturing to his suit. “You can’t imagine how heavy they are.’’
No residents were injured, though one firefighter was taken to a hospital for treatment of a shoulder injury, and another was treated at the scene for apparent heat exhaustion, said Steve MacDonald, a Fire Department spokesman.
“We had 80 people on,’’ Dunderdale said. “Everybody worked.’’
Fire officials described the house on Rowe Street, which has 11 units, as a boarding house. They did not have a breakdown of the number of residents in each building.
The house on Seymour Street was heavily damaged by fire; the Rowe Street house had less fire damage to the structure but significant water damage to the units. Residents were not allowed to return to either building and were assisted by the Red Cross in finding temporary shelter.
Billy Hanafin, who lives on the third floor of the Rowe Street building, said he saw the fire leap across the back alley and ignite his house. Smoke detectors in both buildings alerted residents.
“I opened the door and the flames were right there,’’ said Hanafin, 48. “It really just happened so fast - it just went up faster than I’ve ever seen.’’
Wearing a nightgown and slippers, Michele Gleeson, 58, watched the blaze from a nearby parking lot. In her rush to leave her Rowe Street unit, she grabbed her prescriptions and inhaler, stored inside a heart-shaped box, but left behind her purse.
She asked a firefighter to try to find it, but what he brought out was much more valuable to her: her “prayer pouch,’’ a yellow clutch that held her prayer cards, a few books, and small notes.
“I think it’s wild - God is working,’’ she said.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
