AND THE WPRI 12 NEWS APP.
(HE)
A MASSIVE FIRE DESTROYS AN
HISTORIC HOME IN TAUNTON--
SENDING ELEVEN PEOPLE OUT INTO
THE STREETS.
(MM)
IT'S A STORY WE FIRST BROUGHT
YOU AS BREAKING LAST NIGHT AT
TEN AND ELEVEN.
TONIGHT--
WE'RE HEARING FROM THE PEOPLE
WHO LIVED IN THE HOME--
WHO SCRAMBLED TO ESCAPE THE FAST
MOVING FLAMES.
(HE)
EYEWITNESS NEWS REPORTER KAIT
WALSH IS LIVE IN TAUNTON--
WITH A LOOK AT THE DEVASTATION
LEFT BEHIND.
KAIT?
(KW)
THIS IS WHAT REMAINS OF 46
HARRISON STREET IN TAUNTON.
TAKE A LOOK AT HOW CLOSE IT IS
TO BUSY ROUTE 44.
THE FIRE CHIEF SAID IT'S
BAFFLING THAT NO ONE DRIVING BY
NOTICED LARGE FLAMES AROUND 8
LAST NIGHT - AND CALLED 911
BEFORE IT WAS FULLY ENGULFED.
EVERYONE MADE IT OUT SAFELY -
BUT IT WASN'T EASY TO ESCAPE.
TAUNTON INFERNO.
"I kicked in the door. Then I
kicked in the other door. And we
jumped out the window."
RICHARD GELINAS WAS IN SURVIVAL
MODE - WHEN HE GRABBED HIS
GIRLFRIEND - AND THEY RAN FOR
THEIR LIVES.
NO TIME TO THINK.
"I just grabbed her. I wasn't
even think about my cat. Now I'm
beating myself up. I feel so
guilty. I feel so selfish."
HE LOST HIS CAT IN THE FIRE -
AND ALL OF HIS BELONGINGS - BUT
THANKS TO THE HELP FROM THE
COMMUNITY - HE HAS SOME CLOTHES
- AND A TEMPORARY PLACE TO STAY.
WHILE HE AND OTHER RESIDENTS OF
THIS 6-APARTMENT HISTORIC HOUSE
QUITE LITERALLY JUMPED OUT -
OTHERS - JUMPED IN.
BRITTANI ALBANESE WAS HEADED
HOME FROM THE STORE JUST AFTER 8
TUESDAY NIGHT.
"I seen the side of the house on
fire so I called the fire
department and then I hear
people screaming from the first
floor, a couple and they
couldn't get out the window..."
WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT - SHE
RAN TOWARD THE BURNING HOUSE.
"I broke the screen and I pulled
them out of the windows."
ALL 11 RESIDENTS MADE IT OUT
SAFELY - BUT FIREFIGHTERS WORKED
FOR HOURS THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT -
TRYING TO QUELL THE HOT FLAMES.
"Some hose lines melted from the
heat, yes."
THIS - AS NEIGHBORS WATCHED IN
DISBELIEF AS THIS HISTORIC HOUSE
- BUILT IN 1845 - COULD NOT BE
SAVED.
: "It's devastating to see these
old buildings that are so
well-put-together but go up like
a tinder box."
(KW)
THERE'S STILL NO WORD ON THE
CAUSE OF THIS FIRE.
THROUGHOUT THE DAY - PEOPLE HAVE
STOPPED TO TAKE PHOTOS AND
VIDEOS OF WHAT YOU SEE NOW.
NEW AT 6 - HEAR FROM ONE COUPLE
WHO CAME NOT TO PHOTOGRAPH - BUT
TO REMEMBER.
LIVE IN TAUNTON, I'M KAIT WALSH,
NEWS.
(HE)
MORE LOCAL COVERAGE NOW FROM
TAUNTON ---
THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
TONIGHT INTO A FIRE THAT
DESTROYED A HISTORIC HOME LATE
LAST NIGHT.
AN EYEWITNESS NEWS VIEWER SENT
US THIS PHOTO OF THE INFERNO ON
HARRISON STREET.
TONIGHT --- WE'RE LEARNING AN
IMPORTANT FIGURE IN THE CITY'S
HISTORY ONCE LIVED HERE.
EYEWITNESS NEWS REPORTER KAIT
WALSH JOINS US LIVE FROM
TAUNTON.
THIS TRULY WAS AN HISTORIC
HOUSE.
THE OLD COLONY HISTORIC MUSEUM
TOLD ME THAT THE FIRST MAYOR OF
TAUNTON - EDMUND BENNETT - LIVED
HERE IN THE MID-1800S - WHEN IT
WAS A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE.
SINCE THE 1850S - IT'S BEEN HOME
TO MANY PEOPLE - SOME OF WHOM
CAME BY TODAY.
"It was our first apartment.
Honeymoon apartment. Was in July
of 1956 and right up on the
third floor there, where the
smoke is coming out."
RICHIE AMARAL AND HIS WIFE- SAT
ACROSS THE STREET FROM 46
HARRISON STREET IN TAUNTON - IN
DISBELIEF - SHARING FOND
MEMORIES OF THEIR TIME LIVING
THERE - SO MANY YEARS AGO.
"I cooked our first meal there
when we got back from the
honeymoon. Steak and beans. Very
easy."
THIS HISTORIC HOUSE - ONCE A
SINGLE FAMILY HOME OF THE CITY'S
FIRST MAYOR - EDMUND BENNETT -
WAS MOST RECENTLY A 6-APARTMENT
HOUSE FOR 11 RESIDENTS.
NOW - THEY'RE GETTING HELP FROM
THE RED CROSS - FINDING
SOMEWHERE ELSE TO STAY - AFTER
FLAMES QUICKLY CONSUMED THE
ENTIRE BUILDING JUST AFTER 8
TUESDAY NIGHT.
CHIEF TIM BRADSHAW/TAUNTON FIRE
DEPT: "This was a significant
fire. The home was fully
involved. Anytime we go defense
on arrival, the home is going to
sustain significant damage, and
that's going to be the case
here."
TAUNTON FIRE CHIEF TIM BRADSHAW
ADDED - THE FLAMES WERE SO HOT -
EVEN SOME OF THEIR HOSES MELTED.
"I just thank God everybody got
out alive."
RICHARD GELINAS DESCRIBED THE
PAST 24 HOURS AS SOMETHING OUT
OF A MOVIE - HE AND HIS
GIRLFRIEND ESCAPED THROUGH A
WINDOW - BUT HIS CAT DID NOT
MAKE IT.
I JUST CHECKED WITH TAUNTON FIRE
DEPARTMENT - WHO SAID AT THIS
TIME - THEY STILL ARE NOT
RELEASING A CAUSE OF THE FIRE.