Firefighters battle three-alarm fire at Roxbury home

Firefighters combated a three-alarm fire in Roxbury Monday afternoon.

“I was a little freaked out because I was thinking why is there smoke coming out of the dining room and then I got to the dining room area and saw there wasn’t just smoke, there was fire,” said Roland Johnson, who lives next door to his mother on Forest Street.

When Johnson saw the fire inside his mom’s home, he tried to put it out, but it kept spreading, so he grabbed his mom and ran outside to call 911.

According to the Boston Fire Department, crews responded to the scene at approximately 5:00 p.m. to find flames engulfing all three floors of the occupied Forest Street home.

“Fire started on the first floor, pushed up through the second and got through the roof,” said Deputy Fire Chief Michael Hocking.

“Companies made a good aggressive push on this fire, there was excessive fire loads on all three floors – it took a little bit of time to get to the scene of the fire,” said Hocking.

He says since the fire started around 5 PM, it was tough getting there in rush hour traffic.

There were also obstacles inside the home.

“Furniture, debris, you name it, it was in their way,” said Hocking.

Hocking says all three people who live inside made it out safely, but Johnson says his mom was worried about her cat Tigger on the third floor.

“My mother wanted to go back in and get the cat, but that was a little too late because the house was already engulfed by then,” said Johnson.

Luckily a firefighter was able to go in and save Tigger too.

“When they came out with him, I was so happy, he is the greatest little cat in the world,” said Johnson.

The deputy fire chief says one firefighter suffered a sprained ankle, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Aerial photos shared by Boston Fire show the rood of the structure pockmarked with holes.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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