The “careless disposal of a cigarette” on a second-floor porch allegedly led to a three-alarm blaze that left five firefighters injured and a 13-year-old burned in Dorchester early yesterday morning.
According to Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald, while no one suffered from serious injuries, five on-scene responders were sent to an area hospital after fighting a blaze that ripped through the top floors of a triple-decker building on Harvard Avenue.
MacDonald said the three-alarm fire caused two porches to collapse, and fire was spewing from the windows when firefighters arrived on the scene.
Firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading to a dwelling next door.
MacDonald said a mini-van parked directly in front of the apartment building also caught fire when the two porches began to fall apart.
“It was very fast-moving,” he said. “The first ladder truck ordered a second alarm as soon as they arrived.”
A call for the burning building came in around 5:43 a.m., and it took several hours for more than 75 Boston firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
Fire officials determined that the house was “a total loss.”
A 13-year-old resident was also sent to the hospital to treat minor burns to his head, according to fire officials.
Cigarette caused blaze
According to BFD spokesman Steve MacDonald, a poorly discarded cigarette left on the second floor porch of the home was the cause of the early morning fire.
The blaze started on the porch before working its way up to the third floor, and eventually, the roof.
Details
Five firefighters were injured in the early morning blaze. Three of them suffered from chest pains.
Fire officials estimated the the fire caused $500,000 worth of damage to the Dorchester home.
According to reports, nine people, including five children and four adults, were displaced by the fire.
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