Smoking devices blamed for 2-alarm fire

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) - Fire investigators confirmed that careless disposal of smoking devices are to blame for the two-alarm fire that displaced six people.

Smoke and flames put a neighborhood on alert just after 11 p.m. Sunday. The Fall River Fire Department responded to a three family home on Swindells Street to find it engulfed by the fire.

“And I saw red sparks coming from next door and I thought it was fireworks. Then all of a sudden I looked, I opened the door and there’s red flames shooting out of the second floor apartment,” said Millie Donato.

It took crews a little over an hour to put out the fire. By that time, the house had suffered serious damage. The intense flames also damaged at least three neighboring homes, with the heat melting the siding.

• Photos: 2-alarm fire destroys Fall River home

Six people escaped the fire, including two children.

The Red Cross also responded to help six people; four adults and two children.

"It's a shame, it's a nice young guy and his wife that own that house you know, it's a shame. Luckily no one got hurt, that's the main thing, you know," said Roger Herbert, a neighbor.

One firefighter was sent to the hospital with breathing troubles.