Neighbors help residents escape fire at multi-family home in Woonsocket

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — It was panicked moments Tuesday afternoon in Woonsocket as a fire quickly spread through a multi-family home.

Michael Desrosiers lives next door on Chalapa Avenue and said he knew something was wrong when he saw black smoke coming from the basement and up through the roof.

He said he then noticed people were still in the building.

“We just went over there and told them to come down the fire escape and just go to safety,” Desrosiers said.

Neighbors said they helped residents jump down from a fire escape ladder about 10 feet off the ground.

“It was tense because we didn’t know if the fire was gonna come out quicker while the people were hanging,” Desrosiers said.

Woonsocket Fire Chief Bob Cahill said everyone was able to evacuate safely, noting the flames moved quickly from the basement to the upper floors because of the age and design of the building.

“The older structures sometimes don’t have the fire stops in the walls,” Cahill said. “So from the basement all the way to the attic the exterior wall is open, there’s usually not insulation in there.”

“The floor doesn’t extend all the way to the edge of the structure,” he continued. “It’s just straight up from the basement to attic.”

The Red Cross is helping 12 adults and six children who will be without a home after the fire.

The cause is still under investigation, but Desrosiers said he’s just glad everyone is ok.

“It was great to see everybody pitching in in the neighborhood,” he said. “Hopefully it doesn’t happen to anybody else.”

Cahill said firefighters were able to safely rescue several cats and a dog from the fire.