A massive five-alarm fire ripped through a multi-family home and church in Lynn on Friday night, displacing 18 people and leaving the buildings in ruins, the Lynn Fire Department reported Saturday.
At 8:21 p.m. Friday night, Lynn Fire stated they received a single 911 call from a home at 60 Estes St., first reporting a fire in the building.
Five minutes later, the first firefighters were on the scene and reporting smoke visible from an upper window of the three-story, wood frame, six-unit apartment building at the address, the department reported. The responders moved in to perform an initial search.
Meanwhile around the back of the building, a safety officer on scene “within 3 minutes reported a heavy volume of fire in the rear” extending back towards the church on 10 Chestnut St., Iglesia Evangelica Congregacional.
The church, a large three-story wood frame structure built in 1938, sat about 10 feet away from the fast growing blazing, Lynn Fire said.
“Companies in the original fire building were reporting heavy fire conditions,” the Lynn Fire Department stated. “Engine Co. 5 requested additional manpower and big hose lines. The fire was now in the roof line of the church.”
Before long, a corner of the building was on the imminent verge of collapse, the department said.
A second, third and fourth alarm were ordered by 8:45 p.m., Lynn Fire said, bringing in help from Swampscott, Melrose, Saugus, Revere, Marblehead, Salem, and Peabody.
“Companies were now contending with 20-mile-per-hour winds as well as burning power lines as they attempted to get more hose lines in place, connecting to fire hydrants blocks away,” Lynn Fire said.
Quickly, a fire lieutenant “advised the command that the fire had control of the church and there was an imminent collapse,” and the blaze was treated as a “defensive fire.”
“Large embers and brands were blowing east towards Broad St., Atlantic St., and Breed St.,” the department said, getting a larger-scaled neighborhood evacuation underway.
As the responders evacuated neighboring residents along Broad St., the fire department said, a fifth alarm was ordered. More Revere, Lynnfield, and Chelsea teams came, and a final engine company from Boston was requested for additional water supply, bringing the total response to over 60 firefighters.
While battling the blaze, the second floor of the church collapsed “pushing the front wall out and collapsing to the front sidewalk,” Lynn Fire said, but teams managed to hold the fire back from engulfing the next door auto shop and two-and-a-half story wood frame residence on either side.
The cavalry of firefighters remained on the scene through the night, wetting hot spots as needed. By morning, the structures were visibly destroyed by the incident.
At least 18 people were displaced from the Estes St. home, Lynn Fire said, but there were no reported injuries. One resident was taken for evaluation. The people were sheltered in a MBTA bus initially, and the Red Cross is now assisting.
The church at 10 Chestnut St., Iglesia Evangelica Congregacional, was listed as “temporarily closed” on Google on Saturday.
Icy conditions at the site had “multiple firefighters falling,” but no responders were hurt, the department said. The Salvation Army and Atlantic EMS provided aid for the firefighters.
The fire is under investigation by the Lynn Fire Investigation Unit and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the fire marshal’s office. No cause has been reported yet.
