(Ben Parker/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)
BROOKLINE (WBZ-AM) -- Crews were able to quickly control a 2-alarm fire that broke out in a condominium high-rise in Brookline early Friday morning.
Deputy Chief Robert Nelson said occupants of Brook House Condominium on Pond Avenue were lucky, as the building was one of the few high-rises in the state that does not have a sprinkler system.
Nelson said there was pretty heavy fire coming from one apartment in the 15-story building when firefighters arrived on the scene around 3:45 a.m.
“Upon arrival, we had heavy fire showing on floor number five out of two windows,” Nelson said. “We struck a second alarm, immediately.”
Crews were able to get ladders up and knock the fire down pretty quickly.
“The occupant of the apartment had closed the door when he left,” Nelson explained. “So, it kept the fire contained to that unit.”
Nelson said the simple act of closing the door was a difference maker and he advocated that others do the same, should they find themselves in a similar situation.
“If you’re ever in a fire, always close the door behind you,” Nelson said. “It keeps the fire contained and [prevents it] from spreading.”
Emmanuel, a resident of the building, said that he was able to get his family out of the building quickly, after alarms began to ring out. “We just got all of the kids out, brought a few belongings and we just left,” he said.
It wasn’t until after he got outside that he realized that the fire was right above his fourth-floor apartment. “We didn’t know where it was, what it was. It was just on the fifth floor.”
All occupants were able to get out of the building.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker reports