Revere Firefighters Battle Three-House Fire In Extreme Heat
REVERE (CBS) – Firefighters battled a seven-alarm blaze that involved at least three homes on Hyde Street in Revere on Tuesday.
It's unclear what started the fire, but controlling it - the deputy fire chief said conditions couldn't have been worse.
It was flames that brought fire crews to the multi-family house, but the greatest threats would be overpowering smoke and brutal heat. The thick, dark haze poured out from the house - filling the neighborhood and making it impossible to see.
The smell was unbearable and the thickness of the smoke; Your eyes were burning as soon as you walked out here," said neighbor Kelly Hoar.
Trying to cover this fire in Revere but I actually can't find my photographer. This is, wild. In 12 years of covering news/fires I've never been to a scene like this. It's so hot. So hazy. It clears up briefly and then is so thick you can't see an arms length ahead #WBZ pic.twitter.com/DrgqhxVZca
— Juli McDonald (@julimcdonald) June 29, 2021
Even as firefighters rotated out, there was no relief. Exhausted, in their heavy protective gear, crews just disappeared into the smoke.
"You get all that heat and humidity, you're working hard. Heart rate is up. You're breathing that smoke. It doesn't take long to put somebody down," said Deputy Fire Chief James Cullen.
With those dangers in mind, a Peabody mom and daughter jumped in their car, rushing to make sure their hero was safe and had something to drink.
"My dad is 60 years old. He's been a firefighter for 35 years. It's his passion. God bless him, I could never do it. This is what he loves doing. He loves saving people," said Molly Delaney, proudly.
Just spoke with a Chelsea family whose husband/dad is a 60yo FF of 35 years. They saw this Revere fire on tv and flew down here to make sure he had water and was safe. Tough job being a first responder and tough job loving them too! #WBZ pic.twitter.com/TfAVR2nAFv
— Juli McDonald (@julimcdonald) June 29, 2021
A Revere mother and son didn't even have to know any of the firefighters.. they still rushed over to help - the helpers.
"She sent me a text 'hey they need help.' I came down as fast as I could," said Alec Brinig, of Revere.
The two hauled cases of water and soaked cool towels for the exhausted crews as they rotated out.
"This is our home. These guys are our heroes. If we can't back our police and our fire department we have no business in the city. These are our guys. We've got to take care of them, they take care of us," said Theresa Brinig.
The chief of police told WBZ-TV at least 15 people were displaced. No one in the neighborhood was hurt, but smoke inhalation was a concern for all. Several firefighters did need treatment.
The Red Cross responded to the scene to assist those displaced by the fire.