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February 22, 2012

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5 firefighters injured in Mass. triple-decker fire

3 injured firefighters had chest pains, 1 was cut on his face, another had wrist injury

By Matt Stout
The Boston Herald

DORCHESTER, Mass. — The 13-year-old boy burned yesterday as he helped rescue his mother from their blazing Dorchester triple-decker fled the inferno in bare feet and with smoke billowing from his head, according to one resident who escaped just moments before the fire engulfed her home.

The teen and five firefighters were taken to local hospitals with a variety of non-life-threatening injuries after the three-alarm fire — sparked by a cigarette — overtook the Harvard Avenue home, ripping through the roof and leaving the building unlivable, fire officials said.

Leona DePina, 41, watched in horror as the blaze destroyed her apartment, "memories" and even her minivan after the second- and third-floor porches collapsed on the car in a fiery heap.

DePina said she was awoken by a smoke detector and the sight of flames shooting in front of her window shortly before 5:43 a.m. After waking her two daughters they ran to the front door, only to be met by flames, and then sprinted down the back stairwell, knocking on their neighbors' doors as they passed.

One of the last out was her 13-year-old, second-floor neighbor, who city officials said was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with burns on his head and feet. Walter Apperwhite, a neighborhood coordinator with the mayor's office, said the boy helped his mother to safety.

"He was a good kid," Apperwhite said. "He's going to need follow-up treatment, but he's going to be OK."

DePina said he "automatically went and hugged" the teen after seeing him emerge from the fire.

"The house was actually falling down when they were coming out. Then the house started dropping onto my car," DePina added.

Five children and four adults were displaced by the blaze, which fire officials said was started by the 'careless' disposal of a cigarette on the second-floor porch. The Red Cross assisted one tenant with temporary housing, a spokeswoman said.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald estimated the fire caused $500,000 in damage. Three of the injured firefighters had chest pains, one was cut on his face and another had a wrist injury, he said.

"The fire was raging," said Apperwhite, who was at the scene throughout the morning. He described a "river of water" pouring out of the building's front door for close to an hour after firefighters knocked down the blaze. "The roof is completely gone."