Fire damages five homes in Boston, displaces 35

A four-alarm fire displaced 35 residents and damaged several multi-family homes in Dorchester Monday afternoon, the Boston Fire Department said. 

The flames broke out at 31 Holiday St. around 3:30 p.m., Boston Fire Chief of Operations Rodney Marshall told reporters at the scene, according to WCVB. 

Firefighters arrived to find heavy fire in the rear of the triple-decker, and the blaze eventually spread to four nearby homes on Holiday Street and Oakley Street, WCVB reported.

“For the most part, the neighbors alerted each other and got each other out,” Marshall reportedly said. “The fire spread very quickly, so any delay in action at all could actually have a different outcome here today.”

One firefighter suffered minor injuries in the fire, which also displaced three dogs and one cat, the Boston Fire Department wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. 

The fire’s cause is still under investigation, BFD said. Two of the damaged homes are expected to be total losses, Boston 25 reported.