CHELSEA (CBS) – Chelsea firefighters battled through the cold and the ice tackling a stubborn blaze that sent residents into the streets with nothing.

“It’s cold but I guess we have our lives, that’s what matters to me,” said third floor tenant Awilda Morales. She knocked on doors when she saw the smoke billowing at the back of the apartment building.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Lana Jones reports

Nilsa Mendez was able to get out with only a thin coat. “I’m freezing, I’m freezing. I only have what I have on right now,” she said.

It was so cold hydrants were frozen delaying water on the fire. It’s the worst kind of conditions for crews. “Guys are cold, wet and tired, muscles are sore, you’re going to get cold,” said Chief Robert Better.

Residents, some with children, found warmth in the trucks uncertain what to do next. “I wasn’t able to get any stuff because the first thing was to get out,” said tenant Evelyn Morant.

Residents in all six apartments made it out safely and are now being helped by the American Red Cross.