Fire destroyed a triple decker home in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.
"I heard an explosion but it almost sounded kind of like a fire cracker. It was a big boom," Minerva Santos, a neighbor, said.
An NBC10 Boston crew on scene reported smoke filling the area around the building on Juniper Street. Fire officials said one woman suffered a second-degree burn, but no one else was hurt.
"The first floor lady is the owner of the house I feel sorry for her because she just has cancer and they are very, very good people they have been living here for over 20 years on this street," neighbor Carolyn Ferrance said.
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The Lawrence fire chief said gusty winds made this fire challenging to fight.
"Wind is terrible," Chief Brian Moriarty said. "One of the big things we probably struck so many alarms for is you can see how close together our homes are, three deckers are very old, they go up very fast, wind carries," he said.
A porch on the top floor collapsed from fire damage and the weight of the water firefighters put to knock down the flames. The building is a total loss and will be demolished.
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Neighboring buildings were damaged by heat and smoke and were evacuated. The Red Cross is offering support at the Senior Center.
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