TEWKSBURY, MASS. (WHDH) - Flames tore through the roof of an apartment building in Tewksbury on Sunday.
Firefighters responding to a reported fire on Randolph Drive found a wind-fueled blaze with heavy smoke pouring into the air.
“Once it got up in the attic, it started running across the attic,” Tewksbury Fire Chief Joe Kearns said. “It got heavy at that point and we had to make the decision to pull companies out and start operating from the outside.”
Neighbors tried to help each other get out safely as the fire alarms went off.
“I told my wife to call 911, ran across the street, and started hitting all the doorbells in the building,” Scott Breaker said. “I would do it again. Those are my neighbors, those are people that need help.”
Sarah Catanese said she and her boyfriend had little time to grab anything before they fled.
“I just grabbed my phone basically,” she recalled. “My boyfriend just got his PS5 in the mail today and he grabbed that.”
Fire officials say the blaze started in a third-floor unit but the cause remains under investigation.
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