An investigation is underway after a massive 5-alarm fire destroyed three buildings in a Quincy, Massachusetts neighborhood after the fire started in a building that had burned down four years earlier.
Officials say the fire that started at a building on Newport Avenue by Beale Street Tuesday morning was the same building that suffered major damage in a different fire in 2015.
The fire was reported at about 9:30 a.m. on Newport Avenue by Beale Street, across from the Wollaston MBTA station, in a building that was undergoing renovations. The inferno quickly spread to three other buildings, destroying two of them.
Firefighters declared the blaze under control before noon, but drivers were still urged to avoid the area during Tuesday's evening commute.
Fire officials said Tuesday's windy conditions hampered crews' efforts to contain the flames.
Two firefighters responding to the inferno were hospitalized with minor injuries. Thirty residents lost their homes in the fire, according to officials.
Among the many residents forced out of their apartments was Regina Timomina, who said she ran back inside to grab her passport.
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"I left the building. I saw huge flames shooting up the sky," she said.
One contractor told NBC10 Boston he was still working on renovations after the 2015 fire and that he couldn't believe it had happened again.
"I'm 90 percent done on the plumbing already," the contractor, who did not give his name, said. "I was going to get payment on the building, now nothing."
On Wednesday morning, lane restrictions were still in effect. Southbound traffic on Newport Avenue was detoured to Elmwood Avenue, while northbound drivers had two lanes of the road open.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
