LYNN — Sixteen people were displaced and one firefighter was injured Monday night as firefighters battled the elements and a blaze at a three-family home in West Lynn in freezing cold weather with winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour.
According to Fire Capt. Joseph Zukas, the fire department received multiple calls around 11:29 p.m. Monday for a fire at 12-14 Murphy Ave.
The home was fully occupied at the time with five adults and 11 children, who were all able to evacuate safely before firefighters arrived.
Around 40 firefighters arrived to work the two-alarm blaze, which took several hours to knock down.
“The wind and cold weather played a factor in fighting the fire,” said Zukas. “Very slippery conditions throughout the fire scene.”
One firefighter suffered a minor eye injury and had to be treated at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston.
Firefighters remained on the scene putting down hot spots until 4:41 a.m. Tuesday.
The home is currently unlivable, Zukas said, and the families were put up by the Red Cross. The roof on the third floor was almost entirely destroyed.
The fire originated on the back porch of the third floor, Zukas reported, and spread through the house from there.
“Most of the fire damage was on the third floor, but there was heavy water damage on the other two floors,” Zukas said.
He estimated that the fire caused several hundred thousand dollars worth of damage.
Leah Kalapinski Warren, an Art teacher at Classical High School, has launched a fundraiser to help those who were displaced, some of whom were Classical students.
She writes, “Please find a way to share or donate what you can to help them. These kids have already endured so much this year and now they have lost everything but the clothes on their backs.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Guthrie Scrimgeour can be reached at [email protected].
