Fire crews battled a four-alarm blaze Saturday that broke out in a 12-unit building in Salem.
Crews responding to a reported fire in a multi-family home on Lynde Street around 5:41 a.m. found dense black smoke pouring from the windows and heavy flames coming from the second-floor windows.
Officials say one of the residents of the building found the fire in the basement and tried putting it out with two extinguishers before calling 911.
He then worked to get everyone out of the building.
“My neighbor Bob ran through the halls screaming, ‘everyone get out there is a fire,'” one tenant said. “Still, I wasn’t sure if it was serious or not and then my own fire alarm went off in my apartment so I grabbed my dog and got out.”
A Salem fire department spokesman said, “A lot of people were in there and the smoke detectors warned them of this danger and got them out safely.”
None of the residents were injured. One firefighter was taken to the hospital.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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