One person died and a child was injured in a massive fire that impacted multiple buildings in East Boston early Tuesday morning.
The fire started around 5 a.m. in a multi-family building on Meridian Street and traveled to two adjacent buildings, the Boston Fire Department said.
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Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Burke said one person died in the fire, and a child was injured and remains hospitalized. The child's condition was not immediately known.
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Four other people were rescued from the building, and one firefighter suffered minor injuries battling the blaze.
"I want to share my deepest condolences to the family who has lost someone here this morning," Mayor Michelle Wu said at a press conference near the scene on Tuesday morning. "It's incredibly heartbreaking to feel what the family must be feeling, and we will do whatever we can at the city level to support all those who are displaced or are going to need some time recovering in the hospital."
About 30 people were displaced by the fire, and they are being assisted by the Red Cross and the city's Neighborhood Services Department.
The close proximity of the houses caused the flames to spread to the house next door and the building in the back, officials said.
Burke said the damage from the fire is estimated at $5 million for all three buildings.
Wu called the fire "an extremely dangerous situation" and praised the response of firefighters, who had to rescue residents from top floor windows using ladder trucks.
PHOTOS: Multiple buildings damaged in early-morning fire in East Boston
"Without the actions and quick response from multiple neighborhoods around the city, there surely would have been more lives lost," she said.
Heavy smoke filled the neighborhood as firefighters continued to battle the fire, officials said. All firefighters were ordered to evacuate the building.
"They worked very hard trying to put this fire out," Burke said. "It took a long time to extinguish this fire. We had to rotate firefighters in and out. There were tough conditions in the street here."
"It was a tough fire, I'll admit it," he added. "They couldn't get a hold of it. This was a tough fire, a lot of people in it."
Burke said the fire is believed to have started in the rear of the initial building. He said the cause remains under investigation, and fire investigators are expected to remain at the scene throughout the morning.
