QUINCY, Mass. — An injured firefighter was taken to the hospital, and several pets perished after a raging blaze tore through a two-story home in Quincy on Wednesday morning.
All seven people who live in the home on Harrison Avenue are safe. Chrissy Broderick lives in the home with her parents, siblings, and nephew.
Broderick left for work right around 5:30 a.m. and stopped to get coffee. Less than ten minutes later, she said she got the call that the house was on fire, so she went back as fast as she could.
“I was in the driveway, and they had to pull me back. And it was just explosion after explosion,” Broderick recalled.
Broderick added, “We have a back deck that my dad built, and we have a grill out there. And everything just started exploding.”
Firefighters arrived to find heavy flames in the back of the house and on the second floor.
Quincy Interim Fire Chief Gary Smyth said, “When they went to advance, they were blocked. There was only one access point left: that door on the second floor. The second egress was fully involved in the rear. They were blocked there by contents on the other side and couldn’t advance in.”
Firefighters sprayed the whole house from all sides and above with massive amounts of water. It was left charred black on the back, the roof collapsed at the front, the windows were broken, and belongings were thrown out onto the lawn.
Yet that’s not how the house will be remembered.
Broderick, whose father is Ron Bonvie, owner of Quincy Lock, shared that it was a home filled with love.
“My siblings and I were homeless until our parents found us and they adopted us, and my dad built this house for us with our own two hands, and my Mom painted it,” Broderick explained.
Bonvie has lived in the home on Harrison Street since the 70s.
Broderick said Bonvie built the second-floor addition to the home when her adoption and the adoption of her two biological siblings were finalized.
“It was like the first permanent home or anything we ever knew,” she said. Broderick continued, “Every repair, every room, every wall, we’ve built it and painted it ourselves, and so it’s a really big loss. But everyone’s alive.”
The community started stepping in as quickly as the fire department.
Neighbors brought out shirts and shoes for the family members who escaped barefoot and in bathrobes.
Broderick is grateful for the support. “My family’s been here for over 50 years. The neighbors ran out immediately with bags of clothes and food. We’ve been here for so long, and the very first thing was our entire community just showed up for us so quickly,” she said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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