Fire sweeps through 2 Lynn homes, threatens a third
LYNN — A fire in Lynn tore through two homes on Friday afternoon and threatened a third. Firefighters responded to the scene at 1:30 p.m. after receiving a call of a house fire on Chestnut Street.
"Pretty stubborn," said Lynn Fire Chief Dan Sullivan, as flames continued to shoot from the homes hours later.
In addition to the two houses, two cars were burning in the driveway, covered with downed power lines.
"Way too early for us to figure out what caused the fire, whether it was from the electrical lines," said Chief Sullivan. "But the electrical lines were above the cars, so you never know."
All ten residents of the buildings escaped unharmed.
Firefighters are still working to extinguish the blaze and additional crews as well as the Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster team have been called to the scene.
At the scene, neighbors expressed sadness for those impacted by the fire.
"They're very old, the homes are old, and they catch on fire quickly, and it's a shame. I feel for the families," said Jeff Farcheterre, a mailman in the area.
A woman whose relatives lived in the building said the loss is indescribable.
"I didn't live here, family members live here, but it was like the 'it' family house for some time," said Mabel Rosado bundled in a blanket. "Sad. There's no words that you can put to it. It's just sad."
With the roofs both engulfed, it was impossible for firefighters to work from inside the buildings.
"With the building construction, once it gets into the walls and the ceilings, it's hard to find every little void where that fire is," said Chief Sullivan.
They spent much of the afternoon and evening trying to prevent the smoke and flames from spreading to a third home that was also evacuated.