LOWELL, Mass. — Thirty-six people are without homes after an early morning fire overwhelmed an apartment building in Lowell on Saturday.
The Deputy Chief of Lowell Fire, Bob Destrempe, told Boston 25 News that one firefighter suffered a minor injury after being cut.
Eyewitness video shows waves of black smoke flowing through windows at 12 Cross St. Lowell Police were first on scene.
Luis Velazquez woke up to screaming, a police officer ordering him out and smoke so thick that, within seconds, the room was black.
"I got lost in my own apartment," he said.
Heat made the fire even harder to fight. It took at least 90 minutes to get the blaze under control.
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"We needed more manpower with the weather we had here," said Deputy Chief Destrempe.
Mohammad Ayoubi lives on the first floor and went to knock on doors, desperately trying to get his neighbors out.
Ayoubi says he once served with U.S. forces in the Afghanistan Military and knew he had to help others here.
"That's why I help those child[ren] in my neighborhood," he said. "I like to help everybody."
Hours later, the smell of burning embers still filled the air. Most of the belongings of the 36 people living there, including immigration documents, have been destroyed.
Pieces of debris still litter Cross Street.
Fire investigators say they’re working to find the cause of the fire – they would not say if it is considered suspicious. Meanwhile the Red Cross is helping those displaced with hotels.