Two buildings were badly damaged and three others were also affected by a fast-moving fire Monday in Salem, Massachusetts.
Security cameras captured the moment a massive fire broke out in a house on Hancock Street. There were people trying to warn the occupants inside to flee.
“I just heard everyone shout, ‘Get out, get out,’ they’re banging on the house, ‘There’s a fire,'” said neighbor Tyler Carlton. “Then everyone in the house came out, all the dogs, all the people.”
About 10 people live in the three apartments in the building where the fire broke out.
“I just feel disgusted,” said Margie Mullin. “I’ve had the house for almost 50 years.”
Everyone inside fled, along with their pets.
The #SalemMA fire service responded to a fire with three alarms on Hancock Street. Please avoid the area and do not approach the scene. The crews expect to deal with the situation for some time.
– Salem, MA (@CityofSalemMA) May 9, 2022
Mullin says she didn’t have time to take anything.
“Someone shouted on the third floor of the back porch and they said ‘Fire,’ and I just got out, I left the house,” Mullin said.
Scott Sanders also succeeded.
“I took a nap in the middle of the laundry,” he said. “I woke up with a cough, looked through the back door, saw smoke, the flames were too strong, I grabbed my dog and we went out.”
The blaze engulfed much of the building before firefighters stopped.
“The wind was one of the problems,” said Salem Fire Marshal Peter Schaeublin. “But the other one we have, you can see that all the buildings are right on top of each other. The heat coming from one building drives the other buildings.”
The building where the fire started and the neighboring two-family house seem to be total damage.
Three other buildings were also affected by the flames and smoke.
“My cat didn’t come out when we evacuated, so it’s still there,” said Kristen Homan. “I hope he’s hiding safely and he’ll be fine when we finally get back.”
@ TandJsmomma / Twitter
Flames firing from a house fire in Salem, Massachusetts, Monday, May 9, 2022
Hancock Street is south of the historic center of Salem.
The smoke from the fire appeared on the NBC10 radar in Boston.
Smoke from the #Salem fire appears on the First Alert live radar. Strong northeasterly gusts of wind around 25 mph were reported on the north coast. Smoke directed southwest to Rt. 1 (green on the left, blue spot on the CC radar on the right). @ NBC10Boston @NECN pic.twitter.com/OKk0XpMMhN
– Pamela Gardner NBC10 Boston (@Pamelanbcboston) May 9, 2022
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