Boston Herald
CHELSEA, Mass. — Two firefighters were injured, and a 3-year-old was guided out by firefighters responding to a four-alarm blaze in a large Chelsea apartment building this morning.
“A neighbor from the rear of the building noticed the child on the fourth-floor balcony and alerted us. We were able to get a crew up there and remove the child through the interior of the building prior to the fire extending to the location where he was,” Chelsea Fire Deputy Chief John Quatieri told the Herald.
The blaze broke out on Eleanor Street around 10 a.m. this morning, with smoke filling a section of hallways in the 24-unit apartment building, and flames spreading through the walls towards the ceiling.
“The fire started on the third floor but it quickly spread to the fourth floor and adjacent apartment,” Quatieri said.
A fire captain was transported with a back injury to MGH after “a nasty fall” from being tangled in hose lines, and another firefighter injured his shoulder on the third floor, Quatieri said.
Quatieri said the department had enough manpower to contain the fire and all occupants were evacuated from the building with no further reports of injuries.
Residents stood outside the building under dreary skies as firetrucks and ambulances crowded the area.
Linda Defeo, another fourth-floor resident, was elated as a firefighter handed her pet cat Crystal over to her.
“I just grabbed some clothes and didn’t think it would be this bad of a fire because the alarm goes off all the time. Smoke was coming through the vents and I went out and there was a lot of smoke in the hallway, " said Defeo as she cuddled her pet. “They got my cat down. It’s amazing that she was calm through this.”
The cause of the fire is currently undetermined. Quateri said he did not yet have an estimate of the extensive damage which included shattered windows, exterior, smoke and water damage.
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