Luis Cedeno, a first-floor resident of the burned out building at the scene. At the time of this photo, he did not know where he was going to spend the night.
LYNN — Four residents, all related, died early Friday morning in a three-alarm fire that erupted shortly after midnight and engulfed a three-story East Lynn building by the time firefighters arrived on the scene, officials said.
A relative identified the victims as Yasmin Cruz, 19, a 2014 graduate of Lynn English and a student at North Shore Community College; her mother, Marisa Cruz, 39, a home caregiver; Sonia Cruz, 36, Marisa’s sister, who was pregnant; and Rodolfo Cruz, 28.
Simeon “Felix” Cruz of Haverhill, who was Marisa and Sonia Cruz’s brother, confirmed the identities.
District Attorney’s spokeswoman Carrie Kimball-Monahan at 5 p.m. on Friday said the fire “remains under investigation. The cause is undetermined,” she said.
The post-midnight blaze, one of the deadliest locally in three decades, sent emergency crews and equipment converging on Bruce Place, a small side street off Fayette Street.
Efrain Tavares, a first-floor resident in 24 Bruce Place, said he was outside the three-story home talking on his phone when he heard a loud crash coming from the front of the dwelling. When he went to check it out, he saw the second floor of the residence on fire.
“I ran and banged on the doors before going in,” said Tavares, through interpreter Luis Pascual.
Tavares said he carried an elderly woman out, adding, “I tried to run in, but the smoke would not let me.”
Fire Chief James E. McDonald said police and firefighters arrived at the building at 12:46 a.m. and were told people were trapped in the building and that “there was already heavy fire showing.”
“With four people dead, it’s suspicious,” McDonald said.
In addition to the four deaths, the fire also resulted in two serious injuries. Firefighters went to the building’s back door to the second floor, where Lt. Bill Fritz and his crew crawled into the kitchen and found a victim who was still alive. A crew from Ladder 1 found another woman alive.
One woman was taken to Union Hospital and the other to Salem Hospital before both were subsequently transferred to Massachusetts General.
“They have serious injuries, but not life-threatening,” McDonald said, adding that a third woman jumped from the second floor onto a parked vehicle. However, he did not say whether she was injured.
McDonald said most of the victims fled out a back door. He said initial reports indicate there were 18 people living in the building. American Red Cross disaster program manager Deb Duxbury said reports she received indicated 22 people lived in 24 Bruce Place.
“It’s a real small building,” McDonald said, “with a high volume of occupancy.”
He praised responding firefighters and police for their actions.
Lynn firefighters from Ladder 1 look for hotspots to hose down at the remains of 24 Bruce Place.
The fire survivors were taken to an improvised Red Cross emergency shelter at the Wayne Alarm Building on Essex Street, where Lynn resident Jordan Avery provided assistance. Avery said members of three families were at Wayne Alarm.
“A lot of them were barefoot,” Avery said. “They have nothing.”
Both McDonald and State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said an intense amount of fire engulfed the building upon firefighters’ arrival. McDonald said the fire’s point of origin appeared to be the front of the building. He said fire alarms in the building were working, and that according to preliminary probes, no calls beyond routine medical had been received.
City Chief Inspector Roger Ennis said city records show no serious code violations for 24 Bruce Place. But Simeon Cruz said he was told a third floor resident complained about a “gas odor” in the building about a week ago.
Coan said investigation will include a “forensic scrub” that will look intensely at building ownership and the building’s code history. The owner listed in city records is Jane Jamgotchian and records indicate the building was purchased in 2009.
Neighbors watched from their porches and from a vacant lot across the street. Rick Moore, a longtime resident of neighboring Parrott street, stood on his porch and watched.
“The house was totally engulfed,” he said. “The windows were already melted. I’ve never seen anything this intense.”
Rev. John Healy, the city’s fire chaplain, who is assigned out of St. Pius V parish, spoke to survivors and said he was called to the fire around 1 a.m. He praised Wayne Alarm owner Ralph Sevinor and employees of the Essex Street business for sheltering the survivors.
“They opened their hearts to the residents so they could have a place to go,” he said.
Father Healy said the intensity of the fire prevented the survivors from taking any of their possessions with them as they fled.
“They are broken-hearted right now,” he said. “They need a lot of support.”
Tavares, who had lived in the building for a month, said the lives of the three families who lived in the building revolved around work.
“It was work to home, home to work,” he said.
Jesus Nunez, a barber on Essex Street, who knew Rodolfo Cruz, said, “he was a great guy. Very hard-working.” He said Cruz worked as a house-painter and was a devout individual who attended church.
Rodolfo Cruz’s uncle told Jesus that Cruz had died.
“His family said he died trying to help others,” Nunez said. “That’s how good he was.”
District Fire Chief Stephen Archer said the more than 35 firefighters who battled the fire spent Friday night “debriefing” with mental health professionals.
“We let them talk it out,” Archer said.
Ennis declared 24 Bruce Place “a total loss” and said the building will be demolished once inspectors give permission.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected]