No one was seriously injured in the blaze. Credit: Lynn Fire Department
A four-alarm fire ripped through an apartment building in Lynn overnight, forcing dozens of residents to flee.
The blaze started around midnight in a three-story building on Lewis Street, and quickly spread to the roof. Firefighters feared the building, which houses 25 units, might collapse, but said no one was seriously hurt.
“First companies on scene found heavy fire in the rear, in the area of the staircase going up from first floor to the third,” Lynn Fire Chief James McDonald told WHDH-TV. “The fire was already in the stairwell. By the time they started stretching lines, the fire had gone across the first floor and had gone up the front stairwell.”
McDonald told WCVB-TV that fire crews had issues with the water supply used to fight the flames.
The Red Cross said at least 37 people were left homeless byt the fire. It opened a shelter for the building’s residents at Brickett Elementary School. The city closed the school for the day.
Fire officials said the building appeared to be a total loss. There was no immediate word on what sparked the fire.
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