Boston

‘Sweet, Sweet Woman': 1 Dead After Early Morning Fire in South Boston

A 59-year-old woman died in the early morning fire, officials say

A woman has died after an early morning fire in South Boston.

The Boston Fire Department responded to 380 E. 8th Street around 5 a.m. for a 1-alarm building fire in a residential home. Flames were contained to a first floor apartment, where a 59-year-old woman lived, inside a 2-story multi-family dwelling.

"Woke up around 5 o’clock. Smell the smoke. Ran up and down my apartment," said Michael Sullivan, who was displaced by the fire. "Attempted to go in. The minute we open the door, the smoke came out. It was like a wall of heat. You couldn't go any further. My eyes teared up right away.”

The woman was transported by Boston EMS to a hospital but later died from her injuries. 

“We’ve been sort of looking after her for a long time," Sullivan said. "Taking her shopping. When she'd go away, I’d feed the cat. She was a sweet, sweet woman.”

No other injuries were reported, but officials say three residents, including Sullivan, were displaced by the fire.

“It hasn’t hit me yet," Sullivan said. "I’m sure I’ll be walking down an aisle in Stop & Shop and I'll just burst into tears. I’m sort of kind of numb.”

Sullivan says there wasn't much damage to his apartment luckily, but fire officials say damage to the building has been estimated at $200,000.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the woman's cause of death.

The fire is being investigated by Boston Fire investigators, Boston police and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

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