CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - About a dozen residents are without a home following a three-alarm blaze that broke out Monday morning at a home in Cambridge but they all got out safely thanks to the quick actions of a concerned neighbor.
Crews responding to Putnam Avenue just before 8 a.m. fought the flames as they shot out of the roof of the three-story, wood-frame duplex.
Fire officials said just before 9 a.m. that the fire appeared to be knocked down.
Gary Ludorf told 7News that a brave woman who lives in a neighboring building spotted the flames, ran over, and alerted everyone inside, allowing them to safely evacuate.
“We’re so thankful for her. She obviously saw it before everyone else,” he said. “She is the reason we all got out of the house.”
Ludorf said he was getting ready for work when he heard the woman knocking on his door.
“A bunch of fire trucks started showing up. They cut the roof open,” he said. “That’s when we started to see the flames coming out of the building.”
Cambridge Acting Fire Chief Gerard Mahoney said one firefighter fell headfirst down a flight of stairs while battling the stubborn blaze.
“He slipped coming down the interior stairway and was transported to an area hospital,” he said. “We think he is going to be OK.”
A section of a third-floor ceiling collapsed in the fire, which sparked in the attic.
No other injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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