Cambridge firefighters safely evacuated approximately 100 residents from an apartment complex just outside Harvard Square after a four-alarm fire broke out around 11:48 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12.
Heavy smoke and flames called for an "aggressive attack" by roughly 80 firefighters at Continental Gardens at 14 Concord Ave. The fire was under control by 1:04 a.m., according to Cambridge Fire Department.
Two people and one firefighter were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Interim Fire Chief Gerry Mahoney said the building did not have sprinklers inside the apartments and wasn't required to because of its age, according to the Chronicle's news partner, WCVB.
"Had there been fire sprinklers in this building, this never would have progressed to the level that it did," Mahoney said. "If there's a lesson to be learned from a fire such as this, it's that the building should have been sprinklered."
When firefighters arrived several residents were outside on various balconies on the seventh and ninth floors, waiting for first-responders. They were evacuated through the indoor stairs, instead of being taken down on aerial ladders, according to a CFD spokesperson.
The fire, which started in a third-floor apartment and extended to the fourth floor, remains under investigation.
Heavy smoke permeated the 48-unit building, causing damage to several other apartments. A hundred people were temporarily displaced and offered accommodations at the Sheraton Commander Hotel down the street as there was no power at the complex or elevator access.
Mutual aid was provided by Somerville, Belmont, Boston, Watertown and Brookline fire departments.
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