WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Four firefighters were hurt Monday after a fire ripped through a building housing several businesses in Worcester, destroying the building, the city’s fire chief said.
A day after the fire, the owner of one of the burned businesses spoke about the loss as he looked at charred debris that once made up his family’s flower store.
“We were gearing up to a good year again but now we are out of business,” Edvin Ramirez said.
Ramirez said he was making a floral delivery Monday night when flames began moving through the Pleasant Street plaza where their business was located.
Ramirez’ wife, he said, had just closed up the shop and left.
“We thank the fire department because they did a lot of work,” Ramirez said. “They pretty much worked for five hours and they couldn’t save anything.”
This fire happened in an area some call “International Corner” because of its many immigrant-owned businesses.
Ramirez said he came to the area from Guatemala 20 years ago “trying to live the American dream.”
“My wife came here 10 years ago,” he said. “So, we were making it.”
Worcester Fire Chief Martin Dyer said the building that housed Ramirez’ flower shop and other businesses didn’t have sprinklers.
As the flames grew, so did concern that the fire would spread to nearby homes. Smoke filled the air for at least a half mile, according to some people living and working in the area.
“At least six to seven hours it was nothing but smoke,” Richard Bourgault said. “Our house still smells like smoke.”
Firefighters were able to contain the situation. But the building was destroyed and ultimately leveled.
“The owner of the building was so sad,” said George Makos, who works across the street from the site of the fire. “He was crying, so me and my wife start crying because they lost everything.”
Dyer said one of the firefighters who was hurt went to a hospital and was released. The other three firefighters had minor injuries.
As for Ramirez and his wife, they spotted a planter in the rubble on Tuesday, marking a reminder of how different life was just 24 hours earlier.
“It’s hard,” Ramirez said. “We lost a lot in there.”
No one was inside the building when it caught fire.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation on Tuesday.
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