EAST BOSTON — Flames devour the back of an East Boston three-family home. The fire so hot the man who shot this video was forced back inside his home.
“You could just feel the intense heat coming. As soon as I opened the door, I had to close it because it was just so intense. It was overwhelming,” said Julian Zapata, who lives two doors down from where the fire started.
Zapata says he smelled the fire first, then realized it was next door, and instinct kicked in.
“I got scared. My heart started racing. I just ran upstairs and made sure everyone got out,” said Zapata.
Jesus Garcia lives across the street and says he couldn’t believe how quickly it spread. The fire moved fast and jumped to five alarms, spreading to houses on either side.
“The fire started in the second and third floors, but because the stairs burned through, they had to get ladders up to fight the fires. It was a difficult fire to fight,” said Jesus Garcia, who lives a couple of doors down.
At least 12 people were displaced, and hot temperatures made fighting this fire difficult. Several firefighters suffered from heat exhaustion, and many of them were taken to a local hospital.
“One hundred and fifty firefighters arrived to this, and we have at least nine firefighters injured from the heat. We transported five of them to the nearest hospital for heat exhaustion,” said Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Burke.
The commissioner says those extra firefighters are needed on a hot day to give others a break.
“The heat has been a problem today. We’ve had to rotate firefighters in and out because the heat is so bad. So it was a tough fire today,” said Commissioner Burke.
And because of the hot temperatures expected all week, Boston’s fire commissioner says this morning he added extra staff and will do so all week to be ready for any more fires.
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