Man killed in fast-moving house fire in Fall River
By Alana Cerrone
acerrone@abc6.com
Cigarettes may have played a role in starting a deadly fire that trapped a man inside his Fall River home.
"He was a very humble guy very nice didn’t bother anybody," said Christina Mello, remembering her uncle, 61-year-old Joe Mello, a Portuguese immigrant who lived on the third floor of the family-owned home on Eastern Avenue.
Christina says her uncle was a chain-smoker and was getting ready to light a cigarette just moments before he was trapped and killed when a fast-moving fire tore through his home Sunday night.
"I checked on him and he didn’t look well, so I came back downstairs and said, ‘I’m going to call 911.’ Ten minutes later there was a big ‘boom boom boom’ explosion," explained Christina.
She says she tried to run back up the stairs to see what was going on but flames were shooting out of his door. Within minutes, the third floor apartment was engulfed in flames before crews even arrived.
"The firefighters were amazing. I saw them huffing and puffing. Conditions were so bad… the conditions were horrid," said Christina.
Crews battled frigid temperatures Sunday night, making it even more difficult to fight the flames.
Fire officials told Christina that the home, which has been in her family for decades, is a total loss. It also happens to be the three-year anniversary of her father’s death, who was Joseph’s brother.
"This is just awful I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life," Christina added.
The fire department was at the house last year due to a cigarette-related accident but crews are still investigating the cause of Sunday’s fire.
© WLNE-TV 2016
Photos credit Kenneth Leger
