MORE than a dozen families have been forced to flee their homes after a massive fire ripped through Lawrence.
The six-alarm fire broke out around 9.30pm Friday night on Crosby Street in the Essex County city, Massachusetts.
Fanned by strong winds, gusting to 30mph, the blaze quickly spread to several other triple-deckers nearby.
At least 16 families were affected in the densely-populated area.
Lawrence Fire chief Brian Moriarty said all residents made it out safely and no injuries were reported.
Thick smoke and flames could be seen from at least a mile away, with aerial footage of the scene showing intense flames billowing into the night sky.
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“It’s a lot of fire,” Moriarty said. “And these are three-deckers, 100-year-old buildings, balloon-framed structure, which means no fire stops.”
Fire crews from a number of neighboring areas provided help in tackling the fire, including Billerica, Lowell, North Reading, Salisbury, West Newbury, Reading, Groveland, Dracut, Andover, North Andover, Haverhill, Georgetown, Amesbury and Wilmington in Massachusetts, as well as Salem and Londonderry in New Hampshire.
“It’s going to be a long night,” Moriarty said. “We’ll be here all night long.”
A woman who lives in one of the buildings that caught fire told NBC10 Boston that she and her husband rushed outside when they heard a fire alarm.
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She added she was grateful she was safe.
A man who had been visiting his mom who lives in the area said they went outside after seeing the smoke.
"We were surprised, like, what's going on?" he said.
"The wind was very, very strong… We've never seen something like this," he added, saying he was worried about his parent's house. "The first house was getting on fire, then the wind was pushing it."
"It's really sad, man," said Jorlyn Bonilla, who used to live in one of the homes that was affected by the fire. "A lot of families there that lost a lot, a lot."
"It's sad to see it just go down to a crumb," Bonilla's sister added.
The Red Cross of Massachusetts urged any resident affected should go to the command post which has been set up at the Lawrence Senior Center.
Jeff Hall, a Red Cross spokesman, said volunteers were “beginning case work” with residents to see what assistance they may need.
“Right no, we are trying to establish how many people are affected by the fire,” Hall said in an email to the Boston Globe. The agency is “not sure if we will be opening an emergency shelter.”
It’s not yet clear how many people were displaced Friday night due to the fire.
Lawrence fire investigators are working with the state fire marshal’s office to determine what started the blaze, Moriarty said.
“We have no idea what the cause is yet,” he added.
The fire chief said five homes caught fire but other nearby residencies will also need to be inspected for any damage.
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Acting Mayor Marc Laplante said he had spoken to some of the displaced residents.
“They are in shock, as you can possibly imagine,” he said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to those folks, who are going through a very troubled time right now.”
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