15 Displaced By Fast-Moving Fire That Gutted Lawrence Triple-Decker
LAWRENCE (CBS) – A fast-moving fire tore through a Lawrence triple-decker early Tuesday morning and displaced more than a dozen people.
It happened around 4:30 a.m. on Sunset Ave.
"My grandmother just said she heard alarms, so she got up and left," said Cindya Martinez, whose uncle owns the building.
Lawrence firefighters worked to put out the flames well into the morning hours. The building suffered major damage throughout.
Martinez's mother runs Rafy Market below the apartments.
"It's kind of hard because we grew up here. This is us, this is our legacy. This is who we are everyone knows us knows this corner as us," Martinez said.
At the height of the fire, flames fully engulfed the third floor of the home.
Officials said no one was inside when they arrived. It appears the fire may have started in the back of the building.
"It's very common for a fire in an old three decker like this one for it to start on lower level once it gets into the walls it races to the loft," said Lawrence Fire Chief Brian Moriarty.
Martinez said despite the loss of her family's property, she is just glad no one was hurt.
"It hurts of course but I mean there's nothing we can do at this point everyone's safe everyone's and that's really all that matters," Martinez said.
The American Red Cross is helping 15 people who were displaced by the fire. The cause remains under investigation.
