A house under construction and empty in Somerville’s Winter Hill neighborhood burned down overnight and spread to two neighboring homes from Wednesday into Thursday, according to scanner reports. No one was injured, but eight people were displaced from the neighboring homes, fire officials said.
The blaze at the two-and-a-half-story wood-framed structure was called in at 11:52 p.m. Wednesday. Within three minutes, as firefighters began to respond, it was reported as already being fully engulfed in flames. “It’s going pretty good,” a firefighter said, overheard on a scanner.
By 12:22 a.m., the structure had collapsed, according to scanner reports. The home was at 75 Thurston St., one block over from the City Hall Annex. Cambridge units responded as well as smoke billowed, visible from far away, along with mutual aid from Medford, Boston and Everett.
A crowd including media formed by 12:30 a.m. as the fast-moving fire raged. Just 10 days ago, 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. Eighteen residents and their pets were displaced Aug. 10 from a fire that officials said likely started from an unattended candle.
The Wednesday fire caused extensive damage to neighboring homes at 71 and 79 Thurston St. “The two-unit residence at No. 71 sustained extensive fire damage, with most of the third floor and roof burned out. Water and smoke damaged other areas of the home,” the Somerville Fire Department said Thursday on social media. “The three-unit residence at No. 79 also sustained extensive fire damage to the third floor and roof with smoke and water damage throughout.”
One firefighter was taken to the hospital and is expected to be released soon, fire officials said Thursday. Several other firefighters suffered minor injuries and remained on duty.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, fire officials said.
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