UPDATED: Elderly Couple Perishes In Woodcrest Condo Fire
Fire destroys 21-unit building in Littleton Road condo development.
Photos
An elderly couple has died and four of their family members were injured in a two-alarm fire that gutted a building in the Woodcrest Condo development at 181 Littleton Road.
The blaze broke out around 11:30 p.m. Saturday and took firefighters from multiple communities more than two hours to get under control.
In a press conference Sunday morning, Fire Chief Michael Curran and State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan confirmed the deaths, though the identity of the victims has not yet been released.
"I believe they were both in their 70's," said Currant. "This is a sad day to start the year off, it really is."
Two children and two adults were also injured in the fire. Curran confirmed that the four were the son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren of the deceased couple.
"They had come to pay a visit," said Coan. "And our understanding is they had just arrived yesterday and this would have been their first night."
According to Curran, one of the children, a seven-year-old boy, was taken by Med-Flight to a Boston hospital with severe burns on his hands and other parts of his body. He is expected to survive. The other three family members were taken by ambulance to area hospitals, with burns and smoke inhalation.
The fire is being investigated jointly by members of the Chelmsford Police/Fire investigation unit, State Troopers assigned to the State Fire Marshal's Office and State Troopers Assigned to the Office of the Middlesex County District Attorney.
Coan said a preliminary investigation indicates the blaze began in the condo unit of the deceased couple, which was located on the top floor, back corner of the four-story structure. He declined to speculate as to the specific cause.
"There is nothing at this time that leads us to believe this was a suspicious fire," said Coan. "At this time we are examining several accidental scenarios and investigating fully."
According to Curran, the first firefighters on the scene found residents trapped on balconies on the top floor. Firefighters rescued four people off a balcony on one side of the building and two more from the other side. Firefighters led additional residents to safety down the stairs.
"I, too, would like to commend the Chelmsford firefighters, who arrived very quickly on the scene and the tremendous rescue effort that took place here," said Coan. "It's very clear that if not for their efforts, we would be standing in front of a building that would have had many more occupants perish in the fire."
"It was a long, hard night for the Chelmsford Fire Department and a very tragic outcome to a very fast-moving fire," he added.
Building No. 4 had 21 total condo units, leaving dozens of people were displaced by the fire.
Some of the residents in the first floor units were allowed to retrieve personal belongings after the fire had been extinguished, Sunday morning. But many of units were either totally destroyed or were too hazardous for anyone to enter.
Michael
11:29 am on Sunday, January 6, 2013
For the record, the fire started around 10:30PM and the fire dept even though responded on time did not hook up the fire hoses till 11:30PM at which time half the roof was engulf in flames.
My wife and I were the last individuals to be removed from the building, via the ladder, after numerous calls from us!!!
There were ONLY two ladder trucks and at times, even though the fire was still raging, they stopped pouring water....why only they can answer!
Duke Jones
3:13 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
For the record Mike! The FD was notified of the fire at 23:08. Fire hoses are not hooked up, they are pre-connected to the trucks, which have a water supply (in Chelmsford trucks carry 450 gallons to 750 gallons on each) this allows for immediate attempts at knocking the fire down. But more important, a firefighters first job is rescue!!! This is what happened at Woodcrest, with multiple people trapped on multiple floors rescue is difficult, this is something you should be able appreciate, as you write, that you were one of the many people recused by the Chelmsford firefighters. As other companies arrive they either assist with rescue or start extinguishing the fire and establishing a continuous water supply. As for shuting down a ladder pipe it could have been done for many good reasons, to reposition the truck, connect to another truck to increase water pressure etc etc etc.It is too bad you and your wife were the last to be rescued, but better to be last rescued than last not rescued.....
Sue Carter
4:20 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
Michael- if you are the one who was quoted in the Lowell Sun as not knowing anything was going on until you looked out the window and saw the commotion, what happened to the smoke detectors and fire alarms? I was a trustee at Adams Farm in N. Chel. that was built around the same time (i.e. same fire code) and you couldn't ignore the alarms. We also had to have the entire complex checked annually. The Fire Dept always responded quickly and were great to work with especially when the cause of the alarm was obvious (like something burning in an oven). Residents did get complacent with evacuating every time the alarm went off so let's hope everyone learns a lesson to prevent another tragedy.
One Adams Farm unit did have a real fire and once people were evacuated, the Fire Dept. was able to put the fire out quickly which limited the damage to that townhouse unit. Very different situation than Woodcrest but please, don't blame the Fire Dept. out of frustration.
Cheryl Douglas
6:40 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
I feel so terrible for my neighbors. Its very sad. I live just up the street at Kensington Apartments. We have a high tech sprinkler system connected to some type of emergency response. There are times where the water pressure gets low and triggers an alarm, what would happen if there were a fire and the sprinkler system was engaged. Evacuation sirens blare. As we are evacuating down the stars we can hear incoming fire and police sirens in the distance. The response is almost immediate with a substantial amount of equipment. Chelmsford fire, police, sometimes ambulances show up within 5-7 mins of the alarm going off. I know, I timed them. 2 ladders, emergency vehicles, 10-15 personnel. Its happened maybe 10 times since I've lived here so I know Chelmsford has the manpower and equipment to respond swiftly. My experiences with response and the experience over there are proof this granfathering of old building designs with no sprinkler, smoke detectors or emergency notification must be updated and enforced so the town can do its job properly and lives can be saved. its so tragic something like that could happen today.
Also, about the water. we lost nearly all pressure here during the fire, so its a little un-nerving that the water supply for a big fire may not be adequate to extinguish it in this part of town.
Z
11:46 am on Sunday, January 6, 2013
I'm very sorry about the tragic fire. At least you have your lives. God bless.
curt salter
11:47 am on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Budget cuts close fire stations...
TB
11:48 am on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Michael, I am glad that you and your wife are safe. As far as the first responders, their top priority is to search for and rescue any occupants of building. Again, I am happy to see that you and your wife are safe.
Melissa M.
12:26 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
As far as I know, their first priority is evacuating the building and then fighting the fire. If they were to start dumping water on it immediately, it would make it harder for people to get out of the building. I'm so very sorry for your loss in this fire. I experienced this first hand in the past and it's devastating to lose everything this way. I lost all of my cats in our fire as well and had to search for them and bury them after the building was safe to enter. I know you're angry right now, but please don't blame the first responders. There is an order of operations they need to follow.
john smith
12:41 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Michael the other posts are correct here. The first priority is rescuing occupants and it sounds like they had their hands full with that difficult task. Life safety then property. Limited resources for smaller fire departments make their job harder. Some think city firefighters have a harder job, but when they show up at a fire they have 100 firefighters on hand. Not the case in towns around here. Tragic situation, great effort by the fire department I'm sure they did everything humanly possible.
Nadia
4:05 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Don't forget that Michael and his wife were residents and inhaled lots of smoke yelling from the balcony floor for help!! It's no placing blame here, but, lets try to fix the errors for the next fire where things may be able to be resonved in a better fashion! Thank God for having their lives, and thank he firefighters for their efforts. But things may be improved!
Hunters Kin
12:58 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Get your heads out of your expletives people. Firemen do make mistakes. If you weren't there you can't comment that they did everything correctly. So zip it!
David
1:07 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Were you there? What mistakes were made by the first responders? There were only TWO ladder trucks because Chelmsford has ONE ladder truck, the other was from Lowell.
john smith
1:11 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Anyone can comment, it is called free speech maybe you have heard of that! Of course firemen make mistakes, nobody said they don't, but it's a bit crazy to place blame on them without concrete proof of errors. They showed up to a horrible scenario and I'm positive they did the best they could with the resources on hand. That 's not saying they were perfect, it is believing they tried to do what was best, perfecton is not possible.
Andrew Sylvia
1:13 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Settle down, folks.
TB
1:39 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Hunter, all that I can say is, WOW..
Pat
1:47 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Rather than discuss how good or bad the firefighter's response was, why don't you all trek up to your attics or out to your garages, and see if you have any items these poor people (21 units) can use. I know it's a boring Sunday afternoon with no Pats' game, but really people!
Gretta
8:30 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Pat... Very well said, especially since they have an attic/garage/house/apartment to be in, and are alive. Thank you to all the firemen and other rescue men/woman for doing their best for these people. God Bless to those that lost not only family members but their homes, its a very sad day in Chelmsford...
TK
6:30 pm on Sunday, January 13, 2013
Is it wise to allow to build 3 level condo with 21 units in it having only one ladder truck in town?
ron johnson
10:13 am on Monday, January 14, 2013
Andrew,
How do you decide to pull comments when in the course of debate people attacke each other, but allow this comment to stand.
I have to question your judgement if somehow saying people deserve to die is somehow acceptable and name calling is not
Andrew Sylvia
10:23 am on Monday, January 14, 2013
Hi Ron,
Sorry about that. Contrary to popular belief, I do not watch the site 24 hours a day! Sometimes things slip through. It's been deleted.
Diane
11:39 am on Monday, January 14, 2013
A quick question on the folks who perished in the fire ... I have been searching for funeral arrangements and have not been able to find anything. Did I miss it?