Ludlow blaze leaves 3 dead
Hero neighbors fought fast fire
LUDLOW — Three people lost their lives in a fast-moving fire that tore through a single-family home in Ludlow yesterday morning as the victims’ neighbors frantically tried to extinguish the blaze, fire officials said.
Newbury Street residents who awoke to the sound of shattering glass and saw black smoke billowing from the windows of the white ranch-style home called 911 about 6:20 a.m. before rushing toward the house to bang on the doors and desperately try to put out the flames.
“Neighbors tried knocking on the doors and putting it out with a hose,” Ludlow fire Chief Ryan Pease told the Herald. “Our firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control in less than 10 minutes. They were able to locate the victims in 15 minutes.”
The victims’ names were not released last night.
The Fourth of July tragedy left residents of the quiet neighborhood mourning their lost friends and looking for answers. Family members and neighbors of the victims could be seen weeping and hugging one another across the street from the burned-out house. The family members declined to comment.
“I used to see them all the time,” Palmira Lopes said. “They were very nice neighbors.”
Tiago Leal described the loss as “tragic.”
“I grew up close by,” he said. “It’s a definite shocker.”
The Rev. Andriy Krip of the nearby Sts. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church said the town’s first fatal fire since 2001 would send shockwaves through the tight-knit western Mass. community.
“It’s going to be a difficult and hard experience for all the neighbors,” he said.
Pease praised the “extreme effort” of the firefighters who battled the blaze.
“It brings to light the reality of the danger of fire,” he said. “It could happen anywhere. Our guys who responded ... they did a good effort with what they had.”
State police assigned to Massachusetts Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey’s office are investigating the cause of the fire.