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Although the late morning fire left the 70 Leighton Ave. home relatively unscathed, city building inspectors and fire officials condemned the building after what they described as “unlivable” conditions.
Assistant Fire Chief John Darcy said the home didn’t have smoke detectors, sprinklers or any sort of fire suppression system. In addition, the home was unkempt and in a dilapidated condition, he said.
“It was a disaster in terms of filth,” Darcy said. “It was unlivable in my opinion.”
Firefighters responded to the blaze around 11 a.m. Darcy said it started in a wall near the front door and spread to the front door before a 40-man crew was able to contain it.
The veterans, all of whom were uninjured in the blaze, were living in a single-occupancy room while the owner, an elderly woman, lived upstairs.
Darcy said the group was fortunate to escape unharmed.
“If this had happened at two in the morning it might have been an entirely different story,” he said, noting the lack of smoke detectors.
Abigail Adams, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross, said the agency was on scene to assist all residents with temporary emergency housing. A mental health professional was also brought in to assist the veterans, who range in age from 40s to 70s, as each suffered from varying degrees of mental illness.
Fire officials also contacted the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Services to provide further long-term assistance.
The cause of the blaze remained under investigation as of Monday afternoon.
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