WESTBORO, Mass. — Two Westboro residents were rescued after a building became engulfed in flames early Sunday morning.
Shortly before 2:00 a.m., Westboro firefighters rushed to South Street to find heavy flames erupting from the rear of the building and two people trapped on the roof.
Firefighters used ground ladders to rescue the two people from the flames before extinguishing the fire around 2:40 a.m.
“Tried to get off on the roof, window latch is right there, you can see the window knocked out right there,” said Tom Carnevale, gesturing to the decimated structure behind him. “Entire roof right there was engulfed in flames. We had to jump up there and signal to the fire department to get us down with a ladder.”
Carnevale and his girlfriend were the sole tenants in the sole apartment at 22-26 South Street. Their apartment was in the rear. The streetfront is a Thai restaurant.
Carnevale said he did smell smoke much earlier in the day and checked in with the restaurant to see whether they might have been smoking meat. They weren’t.
So was the fire smoldering for some time? That is unknown said Westborough Fire Chief Patrick Purcell. While the fire did go to two alarms, it was brought under control within about 50 minutes, but with heavy material loss.
“There’s about one million dollars in damages to the occupancy, a vehicle and the contents of the vehicle and rear of the building,” Purcell said. “Right now, the fire investigators from the Massachusetts District and Westboro Police are working to determine a cause and origin of the fire.”
Purcell said firefighters were initially met with heavy fire and smoke.
“And in the silhouette of the smoke, we could see two civilians on the roof structure, unable to get down,” he said.
Purcell said firefighters were initially met with heavy fire and smoke.
“And in the silhouette of the smoke, we could see two civilians on the roof structure, unable to get down,” he said.
Fire officials say the building suffered about $1 million in damage to the upstairs apartments and the restaurant below.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Westborough Fire Department and the District 14 Fire Investigation Unit.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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