VIDEO: Faulty equipment and a heat wave posed challenges as firefighters battled a massive five-alarm fire that tore through a city block in Lawrence on Tuesday night. Firefighters responded to the scene after receiving multiple 911 calls that several explosions were reported at five buildings on the 300 block of Lowell Street, Lawrence Fire Chief Pat Delaney said.
All buildings impacted by the fire were multi-family homes. A restaurant located on the first floor of one of the homes also suffered fire damage. A number of firefighters were taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion. The fire hydrants were another challenge for fire crews. Cell phone video showed at least one not working right next to the scene.
Firefighters had to lay down thousands of feet of hose to put out the flames. “They had to connect all the way, like half a mile, then go the other way like half a mile, to connect the water. That’s crazy,” Delaney said. “When you pull up and have big fire, you need big water, and some of our color-coded, if it’s a certain color it’s not going to supply that much. They’ve got to go to some of the bigger hydrants.”
Some propane tanks exploded during the course of the fire, although it is unclear if those were the initial explosions reported when crews arrived at the scene. “There were some propane tanks that were going off, but they were already on fire, so we just let them burn, because when it was burning, it was burning off the fuel,” Delaney said.
The heat wave created another hazard and several firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion. Two of the buildings impacted by the fire will most likely be deemed a total loss, Delaney said. One resident told NewsCenter 5 via translator that he was sleeping when the fire spread to his home. “I was sweating from the fire,” Jose Tenao said, which is when he woke up and evacuated his home.
Footage from Sky5 showed the exterior and interiors of some of the homes completely charred and destroyed from fire damage. Approximately 20 people were displaced as a result of the blaze. The city is opening up a senior center to give residents impacted by the fire a place to sleep, Lawrence Mayor Brian De Peña said.
