Residents evacuated, 2 dogs dead after massive blaze breaks out at Beverly apartment complex

BEVERLY, Mass. — A massive fire that broke out at an apartment building in Beverly on Thursday night claimed the lives of two dogs and forced many residents out of their homes.

The intense flames and smoke forced people in that building and nearby buildings to evacuate.

Everybody did make it out of the Folly Hill Meadows Apartment building on Trask Court, but one woman did have to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Beverly Fire Chief Peter O’Connor told Boston 25 News they got the call just after 7 p.m. Thursday night. When crews got to this apartment complex off of Route 128, flames were pouring out of the roof.

Firefighters initially ran in, but the heat, smoke, and flames just got too intense, and they had to back out, according to O’Connor.

“There’s a lot of structural damage so we have to be really careful about putting firefighters in the building so we’ve been making sure we’re aggressive and as safe as we can possibly be with this,” O’Connor said.

The Folly Hill Meadows Apartment complex are garden-style apartments that take up 26 acres of land. A woman who has lived in one of the units for the last seven years says she’s seen a few kitchen fires, but nothing like this.

“I was resting to be prepared for my surgery and my husband woke me up,” said Lisa, who lives two buildings down from where the fire started. “Maintenance came and banged on our door and said by order of the fire department we all needed to evacuate.”

A few buildings surrounding the flames were evacuated. Nobody was hurt and the cause is still under investigation.

At least one of the buildings at the complex was deemed a total loss.

O’Connor said all other residents were evacuated safely.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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