WORCESTER, Mass. — An early morning fire at a triple-decker in Worcester injured several people and displaced over a dozen.
Crews responded to the blaze just before 3 a.m. for a 3-alarm fire that has since been knocked down.
According to Worcester Deputy Fire Chief Andrew White, the fire started on the second floor, from where flames were showing when firefighters arrived on scene. Smoke engulfed the entire building, but firefighters had no issues putting it out.
"I could hear my neighbors next door screaming, Fire! Fire! [And] crying," said Melissa Giedraetis.
"We tried to run out the front but everything was all smoky and stuff, we couldn’t get out the front door so we had to run out the back," said Cecilo Rodriguez. "You work so hard for everything you got you just lose it in an instant like that."
Officials said five adults and two children were rescued by ladder and all were taken to a local hospital for evaluation. As a result of the fire, 14 people are displaced.
"Crews were very aggressive, they did an excellent job," said Deputy Fire Chief White. "There was heavy fire, heavy smoke in the whole building as they arrived."
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
[ Police continue search for possibly armed man in Waltham ]