Residents coping after holiday fires
Several families in Lynn and Lowell are grappling with the aftermath of devastating fires that ripped through their homes Thanksgiving night as firefighters battled record-breaking cold temperatures.
In Lynn, a two-alarm blaze caused by an electrical fire in the basement left an extended family of 17 without a home. Jennifer Chau, 27, shivered in the cold meeting with companies that would board up her home.
“It was late. We don’t know what happened. I was asleep. I got woken up hearing there was a fire,” Chau told the Herald. “The first thing I thought about was getting my kids out. We got out as fast as we could. That’s what mattered.”
“We were having dinner,” said Eric To, 28, who lived on the sec- ond floor with his parents and four siblings. “We were listening to music, dancing. We heard yells to get outside. I said to grab all the kids. As long as we made it out safe and as fast as possible.
“It is heartbreaking,” To added. “I have nieces and nephews. They were crying hysterically. I don’t know where we are going. We’re going to take it one step at a time.”
Lynn fire Captain Joseph Zukas said the frigid weather complicated the task of fighting the fire.
“The equipment was frozen. The roads were frozen. It was on the coldest Thanksgiving on record. This was very severe conditions to fight a fire.”
Two firefighters were injured and taken to Salem Hospital — one with a hurt shoulder and another who broke his toe on the fire ladder.
In Lowell, fire crews were called to Shaw and Arthur streets at about 5:35 p.m. as gusty winds spread flames to three homes. More than two dozen residents were displaced. City officials said those residents were given vouchers for temporary lodging in area hotels.
Yesterday, two men and two women who were huddled together behind crime scene tape spoke to an official from across the street.
Shortly before 11 a.m., Melissa Allan stood with her bull mastiff pit bull, Halo, near the scene. She brought her dog out to walk, but stood still to take in the destruction. Allan, who lives in an apartment complex nearby, said her fiance, Thomas Anderson, woke her up Thursday when he saw the fire.
Allan said she felt “terror” at seeing the blaze engulf the homes. She described the people who live in one of the houses as “nice people” with young boys.
“It was scary. It was very scary. It was so close,” Allan said. “I don’t know how a fire like that starts. It was so bright. It was like lighting up the house. It was so scary. It was so big.”