Firefighters Battle 5-Alarm Blaze At Dorchester Triple-Decker

DORCHESTER (CBS) – Firefighters spent several hours on Thursday battling a large blaze at a triple-decker in Dorchester.

A call came in to report the fire at 5 Fairmount Street just after 11 a.m.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mark Katic reports

James Armand saw the smoke and alerted family members. "Smoke started gushing out through the basement door," he says. "That's when I just woke them up and made them get out. When I tried to go back inside it was just way too late."

Arriving firefighters reported heavy smoke showing from the basement.

The fire quickly spread through all three floors of the building. The fire went to five alarms, as a number of back-up crews were called in to help out.

"It's a tragedy," says teenager Deion Ducos who lost everything in the fire.

Five firefighters were taken to the hospital for varying non-life threatening injuries. Two other people suffering from anxiety were also taken to the hospital.

Firefighters managed to keep the fire from spreading to neighboring triple-deckers.

Damage was estimated to be around $300,000 and the building was considered a total loss.