A fire inside of an apartment building in Boston's Brighton neighborhood sent an elderly woman to the hospital and forced residents to evacuate Wednesday morning.
The large Washington Street apartment building, which is home to a number of elderly people, caught fire around 4:30 a.m., officials said. About 35 to 40 people were evacuated from the upper-level floors due to rising smoke.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
Firefighters found the 90-year-old woman in the hallway outside of her apartment. She was rushed to the hospital to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation, Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey said.
"The door to the apartment that was on fire was open. They quickly closed that door, which contained the fire to that apartment," Dempsey said.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
Firefighters worked to ventilate the building and allow residents to return to their homes.
"There was a lot to deal with right away," Dempsey said. "It's 4:30 in the morning, people are sleeping, they are elderly, it’s difficult to self evacuate."
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
Virgilio Luna, who lives below the apartment that caught fire, recalled seeing smoke and fire.
"We don’t know where it’s coming from and everyone started getting scared," he said.
As of late Wednesday morning, investigators hadn't revealed what they suspected caused the blaze.
