Massachusetts

‘It's Devastating': Fire Destroys Family Home in Worcester

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Flames tore through a home Monday evening in Worcester, Massachusetts, but several occupants and the family dog made it out safely.

"It just feels like a dream," said Jenna Prokopowich, who lives at the home, but wasn't there at the time. "I don't really feel like I'm here right now."

Jayce Bonet, who also lives at the home, had just left the house 20 minutes before the fire started.

"We're not rich," said Bonet. "Everything's gone, we just don't know what to do."

It was not an easy task for firefighters. The home sits on a tricky slope in the middle of the Worcester hills.

"These hills are very difficult to work on," said Deputy Worcester Fire Chief Martin Dyer. "Getting the ladder set up is not easy and dangerous, the back of the side of this building is a really steep slope to operate on, too, so that was very difficult, and we did have some water issues at the beginning of the fire."

The large home on Westminster Street may be a total loss.

There's a massive hole in the roof, and the family believes they've lost everything.

Family members say the home was purchased 40 years ago. It was condemned at the time and they built it up to become the center of family life.

"Everybody in the family has lived here at one point," said relative Brandon Chiasson. "It's the keystone of the family. Personally, that's the only house I've ever known in my life that was a stable home. For me, it's devastating."

Investigators are trying to figure out what started the fire in the first place.

There were no injuries.

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