7 families displaced after 8-alarm fire in East Boston

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) – Seven families were displaced and one firefighter was injured after an 8-alarm fire in East Boston Wednesday.

At about 7 p.m., firefighters responded to 85 Lexington St. for an 8-alarm fire in a two-story wood frame building, according to the Boston Fire Department's Twitter page.

One firefighter had debris in his eye, but no other injuries were reported. Seven families were displaced, according to the Red Cross.

Jill Dymond lives on Lexington Street and was in a restaurant when she heard about the blaze.

"Everybody coming in was smelling like smoke and so we started asking what's going on, and after the loss of those two firemen, I left my daughter in there the with the bill," she said.

The fire department said the fire appears to have started in a lower floor of the building and spread to a car in an alley way. The car ignited, and then spread to the buildings both to the right and left of number 85. The fire destroyed 85 Lexington St. and damaged the two other buildings, but a deputy fire chief says it could have been a lot worse.

"I think we're fortunate it only went to three buildings, if we had the wind like we had the past couple of weeks this could've been a lot more serious," Deputy Fire Chief John Hassan said.

The fire department reported major water problems, and Boston water and sewer representatives were brought to the scene to try to increase water pressure.

The fire was brought under control before 9 p.m.

Cox Media Group