Video shows firefighters rescuing trapped residents from Massachusetts apartment fire
CHELSEA - Firefighters rescued three people who were trapped during an apartment fire in Chelsea, Massachusetts Sunday morning.
Trapped on third floor
The fire started at an apartment building on Congress Avenue early Sunday. Neighbors said they woke up to thick smoke filling their living rooms. Some people were unable to get out and were trapped on the third floor until firefighters came to their rescue.
The three people were brought down the ladder to safety and taken to the hospital with inhalation. All three are expected to be OK. There was no injuries reported to the firefighters.
"There was a lot of firefighters here and they were trying to get in, they were breaking windows," said Brando Lopez, who lives nearby. "They got stuck or something so they tried to break out. I panicked because I've never been through this, I didn't know what to do."
Power lines hanging by window
Firefighters said the rescue was even more dangerous because power lines were very close to the window they needed to access. If the firefighters had hit those lines, they could have been electrocuted.
More than a dozen people were displaced in the fire. The Chelsea Fire Chief said the city has placed them in hotel rooms for Sunday night and will work with them to figure out housing arrangements.
There is no word on what caused the fire.
