40 People Displaced After Roxbury Fire

BOSTON (CBS) - A devastating fire in Boston has displaced 40 people. The three-alarm fire started in the rear of 3118 Washington Street and spread to an adjacent home at 17 Weld Ave.

The fire caused about a million dollars in damage and closed off a busy section of Washington Street, during rush hour. Meanwhile, the families who lived there, they're all just thankful to be alive.

"I was holding my younger sister and she was just crying. She kept asking 'Where's Mom? Where's Mom? Is Mom coming out?'" said Yaliah Vickers.

Mom, along with dozens of others, including firefighters are all safe.

"Heavy fire showing immediately from the rear porches," said Boston Fire Deputy Chief Andre Stallworth. "Extended into all the floors. Floors 1,2, 3 and 4 of the rear."

"I look out the blinds and I saw this enormous fire reaching out to the porch above us," said 21 year old Yesenia Andino. "I told her to grab my six-year-old sister and rush outside. I pushed them out first."

Iyonne Vasquez was getting a haircut when her barber alerted her. She rushed into the burning the building, without hesitation.

"The mother grabbed one little girl and I have the other one," Vasquez said. "And I'm concerned there's more children in this building."

A mother of five from Cuba, who was home with three of her children, says she's no stranger to starting over. "I came here from Florida because I had a stroke and we lost everything to try and start over. And here we are, we lose everything again."

Her 12-year-old daughter filled with emotion. "It was already so hard trying to get our stuff back the first time," said Yaliah Vickers. "We had to go through a lot of stuff. Just making a lot of sacrifices for everything."

The Red Cross is assisting those families with finding a place to stay. This fire is under investigation.