PEABODY, Mass. — Seven people displaced, two houses badly damaged and one dog named Luna rescued. That was the toll on Aborn Street Tuesday after a fire broke out in one multi-family home, then spread to another.
But Peabody Fire Chief Jay Dowling said firefighters caught a lucky break: light winds at the time of the fire.
“If this was two days ago, this could have been very bad,” said Dowling. “We could have had four buildings gone up easily.”
The neighborhood is one of the most densely packed in the city.
Witnesses said the fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. — in dramatic fashion.
“It was really thick, black smoke and then you could see the flames just shooting right out of the back,” said Tracy Gilbert, who spotted the fire while walking with her nephew. “The building around the corner was also on fire.”
Dowling said the building around the corner — on Pierpont Street — actually caught fire first. Radiant heat caused the flames to jump to the Aborn triple-decker. Both structures are uninhabitable for now, but that’s the worst of it.
“No injuries to firefighters or residents,” Dowling said. “Everybody was able to make it out. We did have one pet that was saved by an off-duty firefighter who lives just down the street.”
That pet, a dog named Luna, was reunited with his owner.
Pereira, father of a seven-year-old, got emotional when he described the evacuation of a boy about his son’s age from one of the burning buildings.
“A little child comes out,” he said. “A little five-year-old, a little boy. You know, I just wanted to step in and help them out.”
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