Somerville and its Homeless Coalition are asking the community for financial donations to help 18 residents and their pets displaced by a dramatic fire Sunday.
Flames engulfed a second-floor apartment at a city housing authority building at 268 Powderhouse Blvd., West Somerville, late in the evening, and though firefighters rescued at least six people, many belongings were lost to smoke, fire and water.
“Now the work of recovery begins,” mayor Katjana Ballantyne said Tuesday, urging the community to become “part of the caring response” by supporting the Somerville Homeless Coalition Emergency Fund.
The fund can “quickly provide the kind of direct help to individuals that makes all the difference in a crisis,” Ballantyne said.
First responders said they encountered heavy fire within the second-floor apartment while rescuing five people by ladder, including a child, and pulling an unconscious person from a third-floor unit. Another occupant jumped from the third floor onto a mattress placed by a resident. Four firefighters sustained minor injuries, and four people from the building were taken to local hospitals for treatment. The fire department declared nine apartments uninhabitable.
Per the city’s website, the emergency fund provides “immediate relief to the affected residents,” with donations going to “a range of needs from meals, household products and transportation to pet supplies, shoes and more.” People can donate online and select “emergency Fund” from a drop-down menu to directly support residents displaced by this and other fires.
Any donation size is welcome; only monetary donations are sought at this time, the coalition said. Money left over will be set aside for future emergencies.
In a joint statement with the city police chief and state fire marshal’s office, Somerville fire chief Charles Breen Jr. lauded “the outstanding work of Somerville firefighters who rescued multiple occupants, and I want to thank the community members who assisted residents during this crisis.”
An immediate investigation was conducted late into the night, Breen said, and “based on evidence at the scene, witness interviews and other evidence,” the fire likely started from an unattended candle.
“If you’re using candles at home, place them on a sturdy saucer or candleholder out of reach of children and pets. Keep anything that can burn at least a foot away on all sides. And always, always, always extinguish them before leaving the room or going to sleep. Even better, try battery-powered flameless candles – today’s models even flicker like the real thing,” state fire marshal Jon Davine said.
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