Over 100 firefighters battled a large fire Monday morning that spread to three multi-family homes on Maverick Street in East Boston. One man had to be rescued from the burning building, but no one was injured.
Boston firefighters were first called to the area of 183 Maverick Street, a three story building, for a fire. The flames quickly spread to the adjacent buildings, the Boston Fire Department said, impacting about 25 residents. Crews from nearby cities, including Cambridge and Chelsea, responded to the scene to help.
All firefighters were ordered out of the building around 4 a.m. as the flames shot through the roof. The frigid temperatures with a biting wind chill Monday morning caused the water to freeze on contact, making the streets slippery as firefighters continued to battle the blaze.
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"Clearly you can see the cold and the ice, so very difficult moving around, you have to go a little bit slower," Boston Fire Commissioner John "Jack" Dempsey said. "We had one engine freeze up so that limited our water a little bit but we were able to overcome that."
An MBTA bus was on scene to help people get warm as at least 25 people were forced out into the cold. The Salvation Army was also on scene. Many of the residents who live in the buildings said they were asleep when the fire broke out and woke up to the sound of fire alarms and the smell of smoke.
The fire was put out shortly after 5 a.m., according to the Boston Fire Commissioner. Crews remained on scene to put out hot spots.
