Flames engulf South Boston home

BOSTON -- A fire at a South Boston home left 12 people homeless and injured several firefighters on Monday morning.

The fire began around 7:30 a.m. Monday.

Smoke was seen pouring out of the home on East 7th Avenue at buildings No. 707-709. The four-unit, two-and-a-half story building went up in flames quickly.

As of noon on Monday, residents had returned to the home and tried to salvage anything they could.

“Everyone was screaming, ‘fire!’ I didn’t believe it, I just grabbed my laptop and ran...complete flames just tore open the whole house real quick,” said Taylor Neiland, a resident of the home.

The fire went to three alarms, bringing an army of firefighters to the scene as residents inside the home scrambled to get out.

“There were fire alarms and what not, we got everyone out of the house and that’s basically what happened...we had the fire alarms, we saw fire and got everyone out of the house and waited for the fire department,” said Bart Loftus, Jr., a resident of the home.

Bone-chilling weather conditions made things especially difficult for firefighters. At least one fire hydrant in the area was frozen.

“You’re dealing with...frozen hydrants, icy conditions, when you got water pouring up on the roof and we need to get up on the roof to ventilate,” said Deputy Chief Richard DiBenedetto.

One firefighter suffered a broken ankle.

Investigators said the blaze was caused by an electrical short circuit in a second-floor kitchen.

Bart Loftus, a first-floor resident, went around the building and banged on doors to make sure that everyone got out safely.

“The right thing to do, what else would you do,” said Loftus of the incident.

The Red Cross was on the scene shortly after assisting residents that were displaced. Boston fire officials estimated damage at 800,000 dollars.

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