Man dead, 1 missing after massive fire at New Bedford boarding house
NEW BEDFORD - A man is dead and one person is unaccounted for after fire ripped through a New Bedford building Tuesday afternoon. Five other people were rushed to the hospital as the flames overwhelmed a decades-old four-story building used as a boarding house.
Dramatic cell phone video shows a man and a dog being rescued with a ladder from the top floor, while the fire was raging on Acushnet Avenue.
First responders had to rescue three others, while some jumped out of windows on their own in desperation.
"It's really stubborn, lot of void spaces in that old construction like this," said New Bedford Fire Chief Scott Kruger. "You think you got it out and then fire breaks out somewhere."
At least 70 firefighters from neighboring towns helped battle the fire from the above and on the ground. The Department of Fire Services deployed a rehab unit to help in the fight.
A hazmat team kept a close eye on the air quality for the community and first responders.
The fire was still burning late Tuesday night. When the smoke finally clears, investigators hope to know the cause.
The community is now left thinking about the two dozen tenants who lost everything and the one who lost their life.
"Their lives have been turned upside down and we will do everything we can to ensure they are well cared for," said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.
The families who have been displaced are at a Red Cross shelter.
