A man died in a fire at an apartment building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Tuesday morning, according to authorities.
The fire broke out at about 4:40 a.m. on Chester Street, the Cambridge Fire Department said, and was brought under control about 35 minutes later.
Cambridge Fire Chief Tom Cahill said a number of witnesses described an explosion. When firefighters arrived, they found huge flames and heavy smoke coming from all three windows of a second-floor apartment, where the fire was contained, officials said.
At least one firefighter suffered a minor injury as they rescued people with an aerial ladder and ladder trucks from the second and third floors. Other residents escaped safely after smoke alarms alerted them to danger.
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The man who lived inside the second floor unit was found dead, fire officials said. He was identified Friday as 52-year-old Brian Brandt.
"I actually ran into him before the holidays. He seemed to be in a good mood. This was right before Christmas, so this is very sudden and unexpected," resident Harry Luithardt said.
"You know when somebody dies, it's always a tragedy," said Katharine Van Buskirk, who lives next-door and offered people a place to get warm. "He lived above that room and his room now has a hole in the floor and there's a hole through the ceiling this is above the place where the explosion was."
"I actually looked through Facebook, I follow the Cambridge police page and that's when I saw it," resident Alex Wilson said. "It's crazy. You never know what’s going to happen."
"You know we're just coming off the holiday season, people have been spending time with their families and to have to be met with this kind of thing, it's more than one can wrap their heads around," Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons said.
Firefighters had to contend with freezing temperatures Tuesday morning while putting out the blaze. The building has about 30 units, many of them studios. About 15 people were displaced, but they were able to get back inside and gather some of their belongings.
The Red Cross and Salvation Army are assisting the residents, though officials said they believe most of them will be able to return to the building after cleanup is completed.
NBC10 Boston reached out to the property management company but have yet to hear back.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Cambridge police and fire, and state police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
