Dozens of people were forced from their homes in Somerville, Massachusetts, Sunday as firefighters battled flames, intensely hot weather, and a water main break during the response.
No one was hurt in the fire at a triple-decker on Wheatland Street, but 27 people were displaced by the blaze, forced to sit out in the heat for hours Sunday.
The back of the building is charred after flames engulfed the porches on all three levels. The fire quickly spread to the homes on the right and left of it. Somerville fire officials said they quickly doubled the response since temperatures were over 90 degrees, getting help from nearby communities including Boston, Cambridge and Chelsea. A water main break during the call complicated the response.
Several families have been displaced, with the American Red Cross working to help them relocate.
The family who lives next door are among those who will have to find somewhere else to stay. They called 911 around 12:48 p.m. and knocked on doors to get the first-floor residents out of the burning building.
Dozens of people sat outside for hours after flames engulfed all three porches.
"I lost all my money, my clothes, I don't have nothing," one man said. "I don't have a family here I'm sleeping just outside now."
"It was huge black smoke, a huge fire," said Arisha Poudel who lives in a neighboring building.
"It was very scary. The fire was very big it was definitely billowing out of the windows and by the time I was calling I think it was spreading to our house," added Melissa Poudel. "The people living in the house they were asleep, so my mom was kind enough to knock on their doors."
"The fire spread so rapidly because of the windiness it has been heavily damaged, broken all the windows so it pretty much needs rebuilding from the beginning," Arjun Poudel observed.
The Somerville Fire Department doubled the response size with temperatures surpassing 90 degrees, and a water main break on the same street.
"We got a lot of neighboring towns Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Medford, we had a lot of towns come in to assist us," Somerville Assistant Fire Chief Sean Tierney said.
Neighbors say this isn't the first time there has been a fire at this location.
"About two or three weeks ago there was another fire that happened on the third-floor porch. This time it happened at the back," said Arisha Poudel.
The neighbors also said firefighters saved a "grumpy" grey cat from the building, which was to be boarded up Sunday night.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.