FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - Crews demolished a Fall River apartment complex that caught fire Tuesday morning after an elderly woman and her passenger were killed when the car she was driving slammed into the side of the building.
Flames continued to roar from the Four Winds Apartments on North Main Street about 24 hours after the initial fire broke out at 9:30 a.m., when 72-year-old Judith Mauretti of Fall River crashed her 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix into the building, rupturing a gas line, the Bristol District Attorney’s Office said.
Mauretti was pronounced dead at the scene and her passenger, 75-year-old Linda Leahey of Fall River, later died at Rhode Island Hospital.
Although more than 100 firefighters worked tirelessly to put out the blaze, the fire reignited several times overnight.
Fall River District Fire Chief Kevin Blythe says the flames were so powerful that their only option was to tear down the building, leaving 80 people displaced.
“There was no way that we could go in the building,” he said. “It was too much collapse area, so we had to knock it down before we could continue to put the fire out.”
Devastated residents watched as their homes were reduced to rubble.
“It’s horrific,” tenant Bill Disicoll said. “Everything we have is in there. All our belongings.”
No residents were injured but eight firefighters were taken to a local hospital for minor injuries. They are expected to be OK.
The cause of the crash that sparked the blaze remains under investigation but police believe Mauretti was speeding before she plowed 15 feet into the building.
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