LYNN — Firefighters battled a fire that spread through two houses on Chestnut Street on Friday afternoon.
First responders immediately struck a second alarm upon arriving at the scene at 109 Chestnut St. Upon arrival, Lynn Fire Chief Dan Sullivan said that they saw the houses at 111 and 109 Chestnut St. on fire. Both a car and a box truck in the driveway between the houses were destroyed by the fire. Later, a roof beam from 111 Chestnut St. fell on one of the vehicles.
Crowds gathered across the street as heavy flames poured from both buildings, while clouds of black smoke made visibility difficult. In the midst of thick smoke, firefighters began ventilating 109 Chestnut St. with a chainsaw. The building’s roof was almost entirely burned through.
Sullivan said that no people were inside either 111 or 109 Chestnut St. at the time of the fire. He said a total of 10 people were displaced due to the fire — eight from 109 Chestnut St. and two from 111 Chestnut St.
“We had the unit squad here in a nice timely manner, and they were able to start to hit the visible fire right away,” Sullivan said. “We got crews inside initially and they were able to start hitting it from inside, but with both houses going, it just kept burning.”
Nia Owens, whose boyfriend is a resident at 111 Chestnut St., said three cats were trapped inside the building.
“None of us were home, we got here and the house was on fire. It’s a complete tragedy,” Owens said.
Flames poured from the attics of both buildings, as the fire spread to the left side of 111 Chestnut St. The Lynn Fire Department’s aerial drone surveyed the area checking for hot spots.
113 Chestnut St. residents evacuated the building when the fire spread to the 109 Chestnut St. roof. By 5:10 p.m., crews of firefighters entered the building to search for and extinguish hot spots.
At 7:15 p.m., fire crews were still on scene. District Fire Chief Joseph Zukas said although most of the fire had been extinguished, the property might be under fire watch for the night.
Seven fire trucks were on the scene. In addition to the Lynn Fire Department, the Saugus and Swampscott Fire Departments also responded. Sullivan said he was grateful for the hard work from all the organizations involved.
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