Flames spread from one residence to another as crews battle fire

By Matt Reed

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    BOSTON (WCVB) — Firefighters in Boston battled a three-alarm fire that spread from one residence to another in the city’s Mattapan neighborhood.

Crews were called at 5:20 a.m. to the fire in a triple-decker building at 52 Woolson St. Fire officials said the building was unoccupied and under renovation.

“A lot of the ceilings and walls were open, so the fire was able really move quickly,” Boston Fire Department Deputy Chief Brian Tully said. “There was construction-related materials throughout the building. That was kind of a challenge.”

The flames burned through the rear porches and across the roof, officials said.

“The heat from those rear porches, that’s like a vertical lumber yard,” Tully said.

The fire spread to an adjacent building at 56 Woolson St., and an aggressive interior and exterior attack helped to stop the fire from spreading to a third building, but the extreme heat melted the siding at a building on Sutton Street.

Thirteen residents from the second building were displaced.

“The house next to us, the side was on fire, and it was coming to our house,” resident Neilisaj Joan said. “She was screaming with (a) baby in her hand. Everyone ran outside.”

“I got up, and I looked on the porch and the two houses, like across the street, were just in flames,” neighbor Aiyana Pryor said.

One firefighter was taken to a local hospital, to be treated for minor injuries.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation.

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