HAVERHILL — A fire has left a multifamily house in Haverhill with significant fire and water damage and up to a dozen people homeless. Fire officials said there no injuries.
At 3:43 p.m. on July 20, the Haverhill Fire Department arrived at 43 Arlington St. to find that the fire had already taken over much of the front of the building, said Chief Robert O’Brien.
“Engine three arrived to find heavy fire in the front of the building extending up to the second and third floors,” he said. “It was a pretty aggressive fire.”
It took 20 to 25 minutes to put out the fire and Haverhill firefighters were assisted by crews from Groveland and Georgetown.
While he didn’t have an exact number, O’Brien said there were between 6 and 12 residents inside the building when the fire started. He said by the time first responders arrived, all had escaped.
One of the residents, Jack Jaffarian, 35, said he didn’t even realize the fire had been burning while he was in his apartment.
“I was just laying in bed, taking a nap and I heard my fire alarms go off and I heard people screaming outside,” Jaffarian said. “So I peeped out the window and … I saw my front porch on fire.”
Jaffarian, who lived in one of the upstairs units, said he hurried out of the building, but stopped to grab his downstairs neighbors who had also been resting. He said they seemed just as shocked as he was about the fire.
“I didn’t smell anything, there was no fire or anything until I looked out the windows,” Jaffarian said. “That’s when I noticed it was burning.”
His daughter, 13-year-old Elizabeth Jaffarian, said she had been with her mother when they got an emergency call. At first, she said she didn’t know what was happening, just that her mother said they needed to get to her father’s residence.
“Honestly, I was really scared because the only thing that my mom told me was that we had to leave immediately,” Elizabeth said. “Then, she told me that my dad’s house was on fire and I couldn’t help but cry.”
Jaffarian said he has lived in the building for a year and a half. As of Saturday afternoon, he said, he was planning on staying with family in the area. The Red Cross was on the scene to help other victims.
O’Brien said the cause of the fire is under investigation, but the department has no reason to believe it was arson.
He also said it was surprising that the fire didn’t spread and was able to be contained just to the one building.
“In these types of neighborhoods, the buildings are very close together and it’s not uncommon to get, especially on a day where it’s very hot, a little bit of wind that could extend it,” O’Brien said. “All the firefighters were safe and healthy, all the residents, everybody escaped without injury and that’s probably the best part of any fire.”