PHOTO BY KEITH VIGLIONE
Lynn Fire Chief James McDonald speaks with other Lynn firefighters during a 3-alarm fire at 11 Beach Road Sunday morning.
By THOR JOURGENSEN and GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN – A Beach Road resident died in an early Sunday morning 3-alarm apartment fire that left 26 people homeless, fire officials said.
The adult male victim’s name and cause of death were not initially provided by Lynn Fire Chief James McDonald and the state Fire Marshal’s office. But McDonald said the man died in the 11 Beach Road apartment where the fire started.
Firefighters responding at 4:46 a.m. to the 20-unit white structure facing the ocean found fire blazing in the rear third-floor apartment overlooking an alley. McDonald said the fire started in the apartment’s living room.
“We made good progress and knocked it down very quickly,” he said.
Tenants, including a number of elderly residents, were given shelter on an MBTA bus called to the fire scene and parked on Lynn Shore Drive. A responding American Red Cross crew and building management worked to find hotel rooms and temporary apartments for the tenants.
Shawanda Pierre Louis awoke to the sound of someone screaming Sunday morning. At first, she thought she was dreaming before she fled her apartment.
“I just thank God we are OK,” she said.
Richard Baker was drinking coffee in his apartment when he heard banging from the direction of the unit where the fire started.
“I went down the hall. There was smoke. I grabbed my shoes and left,” Baker said.
Baker said his cat, Willie, also made it out of the building safely.
McDonald initially said the building is uninhabitable for at least several days. He said firefighters have responded to few, if any, previous calls at 11 Beach Road and said building fire alarms were functioning at the time of the fire.
Sawyer Property Management representative Debra MacLeod and coworkers worked with fire officials Sunday morning to help tenants enter the building and retrieve medicine and other essential items.
“We want to make sure they are well taken care-of,” she said.
MacLeod said 11 Beach Road is home to residents who have lived in the building for more than 25 years and tenants who recently moved in. Sawyer bought the building in 2015 and MacLeod said the company spent $200,000 on common area and apartment renovations.
McDonald said 55 firefighters with mutual aid support from Salem, Saugus, Swampscott and other communities, fought the fire.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected]. Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]
