BILLERICA, MASS. (WHDH) - Investigators are working to determine the cause of a massive blaze that reduced a Billerica home to a pile of rubble and torched several vehicles on Thursday night.
Crews responding to the scene on Riveredge Road found thick smoke billowing into the air and heavy flames pouring out of the house.
“I was sleeping on the farmer’s porch and the smoke just came out right around me,” homeowner Rob Rawson said. “Panic city.”
Within minutes, the flames destroyed the years of work Rawson put into his home.
SKY 7 HD flew over the scene around 6 p.m. to find it totally engulfed. By about 6:15 the flames had been mostly extinguished.
Rawson said that as soon as he began smelling smoke, he ran through banging on doors to make sure he and his two roommates would escape safely.
“I’m shocked I got the guy upstairs out. Shocked,” he told 7NEWS. “There were lots of sparks the lines were catching on fire. it just moved very quickly.”
Multiple explosions could be heard within the inferno as nearby vehicles caught on fire — including an Xfinity van and an SUV parked in the driveway.
The flames were so intense that they even spread to neighbor Roland McMahon’s home.
“I go over to the side of our house to see it was on fire there was a small little branches pump. I put that out with the hose. I ran inside grabbed the dog and went down the street,” he said.
The house has since been deemed a total loss and it will be torn down. Damage has been estimated at more than $500,000.
There were no reported injuries.
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