Christmas

Firefighters Battle House Fire Flames, Save Christmas Presents

One floor at a time, they started looking for presents.

On Christmas Eve, the family of four was at church services in Quincy when they got a call from their landlord.

Their apartment on Linden Street was on fire.

"When we got out of church which was around 8:30, that's when we got a message on our phones," said James Njenga.

The Whitman Fire Chief said the original 911 call came in as a mattress fire.

"All fingers right now are pointing towards an electrical issue," said Chief Timothy Grenno of the Whitman Fire Department.

The bathroom is melted and soot is everywhere.

Chief Grenno said the Njenga's won't be able to go back home for months.

When the flames were finally out Monday night, firefighters back in to see what they could save

"I think everybody who was there on scene knew that it needed to be done," said Matt Busch, a firefighter for Whitman.

One floor at a time, they started looking for presents.

The Njenga's were hidden in a closet out of the reach of the flames.

"We are safe and the kids had a great Christmas," said Kate Njenga. "They don't even know anything happened...it did not affect them and we are so thankful."

No one was injured in the fire.

Chief Grenno said the families on the first and third floors should be able to return home in the next few days.

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