NORTH ATTLEBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - Fire tore through an apartment building in North Attleboro Monday, leaving 150 people without a home, according to North Attleboro Fire Chief Chris Coleman.
Crews from Massachusetts and Rhode Island responded to the Hawthorne Village apartment complex on Juniper Road for a seven-alarm fire Monday at approximately 2 p.m. They arrived to find intense flames and smoke billowing from the three-story, 34 unit building.
“Huge amounts of smoke. You could hardly breath, it was like 50 feet in the air,” said Mary McNalty, a displaced resident. “I often thought what I would do in an emergency, in a fire – I would grab my daughters pictures first and foremost. My pictures of my life, my family. I don’t know if that’s ruined.”
Coleman said crews struggled to put the flames out due to hydrant issues and lack of manpower. He said electricity to the apartment building and an adjacent building had to be shut off, leaving residents out on the street for hours.
“This is probably one of the largest fires I’ve had in my career,” Coleman said.
The entire roof of the building is gone, and there is extensive damage to the third floor of the building.
All residents have been accounted for, and no one was hurt in the fire.
North Attleboro Fire said all apartment residents will be displaced until further notice, and the American Red Cross established an emergency shelter at the North Attleboro Middle School, where support services and emergency assistance are being provided.
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