Massachusetts

Fire Destroys 2 Homes in Millbury, Massachusetts

Fire crews battled a blaze that started in one home in Millbury, Massachusetts, and then spread to another.

The raging fire broke out Tuesday afternoon on Upton Street, leaving three generations of one family homeless.

Neighbor Jodi Dupras said she saw, "tons of smoke and flames shooting out of the ceiling, out of the roof, so it was fully engulfed."

"My house is gone," said Jayle Barbour.

Jayle and her mom, Destiny, were home at the time and were able to escape.

"I was in my mom's room and then, all the sudden, we smelled something burning, and then we went in my room and my rug, like, was on fire," said Jayle. "I went to my bed and then everything went out the window and then it caught on fire in my grandma's house."

Millbury has a fire station right around the corner, but Chief Richard Hamilton said they had to call in mutual aid because they had water power issues.

"We had an issue, our tower was in for service, so Sutton's ladder was called, so they were actually first on scene before us as far as a ladder," Hamilton said.

The chief admits that delayed them in knocking down the fire as it spread.

"We needed a lot of water up high to knock it down and we couldn't do that initially," said Hamilton.

While Jayle's glad to have gotten out safely, she's upset with the delay and that the home her grandmother has lived in for 37 years is destroyed.

"My grandma's house wouldn't have caught on fire if they didn't take so long," she said.

The Massachusetts Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause and origin of the fire, but the chief says, at this time, there's nothing to suggest it's suspicious.

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