5-Alarm Fire In Roxbury Displaces 9

BOSTON — One resident and a 90-year-old neighbor were sent to the hospital and nine people, including three children are displaced after a five-alarm fire ripped through their home in Roxbury Tuesday afternoon.

The Boston Fire Commissioner said the man suffered burns to his arms and a 90-year-old woman who lives next door was hospitalized for smoke, but both are expected to survive. The damages to the property were about $750,000, he said.

Firefighters were called to the two-family home at 27 Perrin Street at 9 a.m. for a report of a fire. It quickly turned into a five-alarm, with heavy fire, smoke and subfreezing temperatures creating issues for crews.

Early reports indicated there might be up against"Collyer Mansion Syndrome," a term for a home that has been so filled with trash and debris it becomes a danger to the occupants and emergency responders.

Evacuation crews were called in the event a senior housing complex might need to be evacuated, as a blanket of smoke filled the neighborhood.

When first responders arrived, they saw flames coming from the building and ordered the second alarm. Minutes later, firefighters found heavy fire on the second floor and in the attic. That blaze prompted a third alarm. All crews working inside were ordered to get out of the building.

Heavy smoke conditions from the two-family, two and a half story building at 27 and 29 Perrin Street made visibility tough, so officials struck the fourth alarm around 9:40 a.m. The fifth alarm was struck moments later.

Crews from Brookline, Cambridge, Quincy and other neighboring communities were called in for help and back up.

The city assessed the home as worth $307,000 in 2019.

Photo courtesy Boston Fire Department.