BOSTON (WHDH) - A three-alarm fire at a triple-decker home in Dorchester that displaced 11 people had several families scrambling in the early morning hours of the new year.
Fire crews responding to a reported structure fire at a multi-family home on Ridgewood Street around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning were met by flames that were shooting through the roof of the building and threatening an adjacent house.
One resident, Daryl Johnson, said he has lived at the home with his mother for his entire life and was at a New Year’s party when he got the call that his house was on fire.
“All my stuff is in there,” he said. “All my belongings.”
But when he went inside to see what he could save, Johnson said he had only one thing on his mind.
“My father’s pictures,” he said. “My father passed away when I was in middle school … this is all we basically have.”
Although firefighters were able to knock down the blaze quickly, crews working to board up the building around 7 a.m. found more flames, prompting firefighters to return to the scene.
The fire, which left 11 displaced, caused nearly a half-million dollars in damage.
There were no reported injuries.
One man on scene, Michael Whalen, offered his car to give people a place to put their belongings.
“I can’t imagine,” he said. “What a way to start your year.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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