Copyright 2006 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
By SCOTT J. CROTEAU
Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts)
WORCESTER, Mass. — Three firefighters were injured and two Dorrance Street multi-apartment houses extensively damaged yesterday in a four-alarm fire that also damaged three nearby homes.
One firefighter suffered a facial burn and was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus, according to District Fire Chief Timothy J. Gray. Two other firefighters were also injured.
A firefighter suffered a second-degree burn to his back, got bandaged up and went back to work, Chief Gray said. The third firefighter suffered a nose injury.
The fire apparently originated at 9 Dorrance St. about 5:03 p.m. Wind-swept flames jumped to 11 Dorrance and heat also damaged 7 and 13 Dorrance St. and 8 Sheridan St.
The back of 9 Dorrance St. collapsed along with the inside of 11 Dorrance, District Chief Gray said. Fire officials did not believe any of the occupants of 9 and 11 Dorrance St. were hurt, but were still trying last night to track down names of all the occupants, he said. The charred wood beams of 9 Dorrance St. rested in the back yard as more than 50 firefighters swarmed the area to fight the fire.
Nicole Valentine, director of emergency services for the local American Red Cross office, said that as of last night, 7 families - a total of 17 people -were receiving help from her organization. Families met at the Sacred Heart Parish on Southbridge Street.
Michael Reynolds of 4 Dorrance St. was inside his home when his brother-in-law, Paul Bruley, ran inside and yelled for someone to call 911. That’s when Mr. Reynolds said he rushed next door to 9 Dorrance St.
“I ran over and met up with people living in the house and we got everyone out of the second floor,” he said, as firefighters doused the houses with streams of water. “We got them out pretty much just in time.”
Smoke first started coming out of the third floor of 9 Dorrance St. and then a few moments later flames broke through, Mr. Bruley said. Residents moved cars from near the burning structures.
Gerrie Boudrot of 10 Dorrance St. stood outside and watched as water streamed down from the two buildings and gray smoke swirled between the closely placed houses.
“We looked out the window ... Then I came out and my grass was on fire,” she said, her clothing wet with water. “I looked outside and said `we gotta go.’”
“We’re fixing it (her house) up but we didn’t want to do it in this manner,” she said, referring to the additional repairs required because of the fire damage.
The owners of some of the buildings damaged yesterday said they didn’t want to talk when approached by a reporter, then walked toward Sheridan Street.
Firefighters got to Dorrance Street in two minutes, where they found flames coming out of the building, District Chief Gray said. They immediately starting fighting the fire and tried to protect nearby buildings.
“The fire was pretty heavy and with the wind it caused exposure and hit the other buildings,” District Chief Gray said.
With the charred exteriors of both 9 and 11 Dorrance St. behind him, a soot-and-ash-covered District Chief Gray said the cause and origin of the fire are under investigation. A fire watch was placed in the area overnight, he said.
Standing in the backyard of the two severely damaged multi-apartment homes, District Chief Gray looked over at 8 Sheridan St. and the melted siding.
“That was about 125 feet away,” he said. “It was an intense heat.”
Both 7 and 13 Dorrance St. sustained “radiant heat” damage, he added. The city had a fire company in Auburn helping with the brush fire that consumed more than 100 acres when the call came in for the Dorrance Street fire.
This was the second multi-alarm fire the city saw in two days. Sunday afternoon, a three-alarm fire left a 6 Malden St. multi-apartment home uninhabitable.