Firefighters battle the elements
Blazes in Lynn, Salem, Quincy doused amid harsh conditions
Firefighters across the region battled blazes on Tuesday amid brutally cold temperatures and powerful wind gusts that took their “toll on the crews.”
At least 19 people were displaced by two fires that were driven by gusts as high as 60 mph in Lynn and Salem, local fire captains said.
In Quincy, firefighters were battling a stubborn three-alarm fire at a home Tuesday afternoon.
In Lynn, the wind-driven fire occurred before midnight at a three-story, wood-frame home at 12-14 Murphy Ave., said Lynn Fire Capt. Joseph Zukas.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy fire on the third floor, Zukas said.
“The building was a total loss,” he said. “The roof burned right off.”
Five adults and 11 children got out safely, Zukas said, and one firefighter suffered an eye injury in the two-alarm blaze.
“It was actually amazing no one else got hurt,” he said. “It was so cold, all the water froze. But the firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to the multi-family house next door, despite the wind.”
The Salem fire broke out about midnight in a 2K-story woodframe house at 99 Broadway, where three people were displaced, said Fire Capt. Tony Marfongelli. One of them ran to the fire station nearby to get help.
That two-alarm blaze is believed to have started on the first floor, Marfongelli said.
“Once it gets in the walls, it goes right up to the attic,” he said.
It took about 35 firefighters about two hours to bring the blaze under control, Marfongelli said. No one was injured.
“Cold temps and high winds took (its) toll on the crews,” Salem Firefighters Local 172 said in a tweet. “Strong work by all during this stubborn fire. Fortunately, everyone was able to get out safely.”
In Quincy, firefighters were battling a three-alarm fire at 85 Safford St. Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters were scaling a truckmounted ladder to put out the fire coming from the roof.