Teddy Tauscher |
The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
(TNS)
Apr. 17—LAWRENCE — Seventy-three people, encompassing 17 families, were displaced after a fire swept through six buildings on Crosby Street starting about 9:30 p.m. Friday. No injuries have been reported.
At a press conference held Saturday at the scene, City Council President and acting Mayor Marc Laplante called the lack of injuries “an Easter miracle.”
The fire is believed to have started at 22-24 Crosby St. before rapidly engulfing surrounding buildings in the Lawrence neighborhood just before 10 p.m. Friday night. The fire, quickly reaching eight alarms, forced Lawrence to call in mutual aid fire companies from 30 communities from the Merrimack Valley and beyond.
The buildings were residential and did not have sprinkler systems installed. Lawrence Fire Chief Brian Moriarty said two of the six affected buildings will have to be torn down.
The cause of the fire is unknown but Moriarty said it is believed to have started on a the third floor porch of apartment 22-24.
Wind spread the fire from the initial building and posed a challenge to firefighters. Moriarty said none of the hydrants malfunctioned, however firefighters did have to go to hydrants farther away simply because of how large the fire was.
“It took a while but it wasn’t like we had any broken hydrants,” said Moriarty.
Visibility was also poor at the scene because of heavy smoke, he said.
“I couldn’t see the burning building until I was in front of it,” said Moriarty.
Local resident Hailey Taylor said Saturday morning that she was passing through the neighborhood Friday night when she saw the fire.
“It was crazy because it spread to so many buildings,” she said. “This whole neighborhood could have easily gone up, but Lawrence fire did a really good job of controlling it.”
Elisa Gagrido, who lives nearby, saw the families being forced to leave their homes.
“I saw the people crying … the little kids were very nervous,” she said.
The Red Cross aided the fire victims, taking them to the Lawrence Senior Center. The Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority sent a bus to the Crosby Street neighborhood to help residents with rides.
Lawrence firefighters were aided by firefighters from surrounding communities, including from Lowell, Salem, N.H., Amesbury, Salisbury, North Andover, Rowley, Lynn, Tewskbury, Nashua, N.H., as well as fire departments from as far away as Lynn, Salisbury, West Newbury, Beverly, Middleton and Danvers.
In total, 80 to 100 firefighters were involved at the scene of the fire, said Moriarty.
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