MA Apartment Fire Claims Elderly Resident

Dec. 29—A Cambridge woman died and six other people were displaced from a three-unit Cambridge house after a three-alarm fire ripped through the building Wednesday morning.

"I've been in this business for 39 years. It bothers you," Cambridge Fire Chief Gerry Mahoney said of the deadly blaze. "When you lose a life from a fire scene, no matter the circumstances, and the holidays obviously compound it."

A passerby on Webster Avenue outside Kendall Square called the fire department shortly before 7:30 a.m., which was followed by several more calls about the heavy fire and smoke coming from the second and third floors toward the rear of the building, according to Mahoney.

About 70 firefighters arrived on the scene of the three-alarm fire, pumping water on the flames from both inside and outside the building.

The victim, a woman in her early 80s, was in the second floor apartment. Her cause of death was not immediately available pending an autopsy. Mahoney said an initial investigation indicates that the woman was related to the owner of the building.

A couple firefighters were "nicked up" fighting the flames, but no other injuries were reported, Mahoney said.

He added that he did not consider the older building to be a "total loss" because the fire was confined primarily to the second and third floors in the rear of the building.

Mahoney said a cause and origin investigation into the incident is being handled jointly by the State Fire Marshal's office, the Middlesex DA'S office, Cambridge Police and the Cambridge Fire Investigation Unit.

Although the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, Mahoney took the opportunity to remind people to be vigilant about fire safety this winter.

"Make sure you have working smoke detectors, take precautions with respect to electrical hazards and appliances," he said.

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