SOMERVILLE, MASS. (WHDH) - Seven people were taken to the hospital early Friday morning after a multi-family home in Somerville went up in flames.
Fire crews responded around 2 a.m. to an intense fire at a three-story home on Appleton Street.
The flames forced four people to jump from the second floor of the building and witnesses say they had just seconds to make it out alive.
“The whole entire building burst into flames in a matter of minutes,” Kevin Merrill said. “I really thought a couple of people were going to die last night.”
Trapped inside, with flames rapidly ripping through building, the victims had no choice but to jump.
“A man jumped through a second-floor window and landed on the recycle barrels,” Merrill said.
One man said he was sleeping when the flames first erupted, and woke up to see smoke and an orange glow. He said he knew there were only two exits: the front door and back door. Luckily for him, he said, the front entrance was perfectly clear.
The victims of the fire suffered minor injuries. They are expected to make a full recovery.
“They were within in seconds of not coming out of there,” Merrill said. Another man said the victims were “insanely lucky” to make it out safely.
Sullivan said several people will be displaced by the fire. The building was deemed a complete loss.
Officials said they plan to investigate the cause of the fire.
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