LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) – Four firefighters were hospitalized and 22 people were displaced after a five-alarm fire ripped through multiple triple-decker homes in Lowell on Sunday morning, prompting a massive emergency response.
Crews responded to two buildings spewing heavy flames at 45 and 49 Clare St. after spotting the fire on their way to another call around 8:39 a.m., according to Lowell Fire Chief Phillip Charron. Alarms four and five were rung for manpower due to the heavy heat conditions.
Four firefighters were taken to the hospital for minor injuries after battling the blaze, mostly due to heat exhaustion. All are expected to be OK, Charron said.
“Many of these guys are beat, they’ve been in the building 5-6 times,” said Charron. “It’s a hard fire and the guys did an excellent job.”
The blaze caused the roofs of two buildings to collapse and the third floor of one building to collapse.
Twenty-two people were displaced and taken to a cooling center. The Red Cross of Massachusetts was on the scene to assist them.
No residents were injured by the fire, Charron said.
“One of the rooms there was a couple they were sleeping but the baby was screaming. I ran and got them out and then we went to the second floor got the two people outta there,” said Michael Miranda, who helped rescued five people and a baby from one of the buildings.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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