Worcester home seriously damaged by 3-alarm fire

WORCESTER, Mass. — Firefighters in Worcester spent most of Monday evening fighting a tricky house fire that severely damaged the home.

Sky25 flew over the scene on Westminster Street where smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of the home.

Worcester Deputy Fire Chief Martin Dyer told Boston 25 News the fire started just before 5 p.m.

“As soon as we pulled out from the station, we saw smoke coming from the rear we immediately struck a second alarm," said Deputy Chief Dyer.

Multiple fire companies could be seen at the scene, where firefighters had to shut off nearby streets in order to respond to the fire. Flames were seen coming out from an opening in the ceiling, clouded by smoke.

“[It was a] very difficult fire to fight because of the advanced stage on arrival and the construction of the house, very hard to get in between the roofline of the house to get to the hidden pockets of fire," said Deputy Chief Dyer. “So once we were able to control the heavy fire from the exterior we had a really hard time and a lot of work to do to get between that ceiling.”

Since the fire had gotten worse even before firefighters arrived at the scene, that made it tougher for them to fight it. They had to start fighting it from the outside since they could not go inside. The fire had quickly spread to the attic, where it was burning quickly, which forced them to break open the roof.

The house was occupied when the fire started, but all residents were able to evacuate and have been accounted for. Firefighters say there extensive damage to the home.

“We lived here our whole life and it’s gone, everything is gone," said Jayce Bonet.

Three generations of the same people, six members in total, lost the home where many of them were raised.

“Our grandparents raised us, my two little brothers too, that’s their home," said Jenna Prokopowich. “Nothing is going to feel like that, we can get new clothes and replace the furniture, but you can’t replace the feeling when you walk into that home.”

Prokopowich says her grandfather built and lived in the home for 40 years.

Deputy Chief Dyer says no one was injured in the fire. It is still unclear how it started.

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