Boston Firefighters Battle Simultaneous Roof Fires

Boston firefighters battled two roof fires yesterday that broke out almost simultaneously in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, leaving at least a dozen people homeless and causing nearly $1 million in damage, fire officials said.

Howard Merlin said his partner, Yakov Dov, was tending to the flowers in front of their four-story brick brownstone on Fort Avenue in Roxbury when he first noticed flames shooting out of a third-floor window about 4 p.m.

‘I rushed home as soon as I could,’ Merlin said as Dov wept while speaking with investigators. ‘I haven’t been back inside yet but it sounds like it’s pretty messed up.’

Lucy Terzis, who lives in the basement unit of the building adjacent to Merlin’s, said she was napping when she heard a commotion outside.

‘I just got up and got out,’ Terzis said while clutching her 11-year-old, long-haired miniature Dachshund, Francis, who she scooped up on her way out the door. ‘I’m glad we got out safe but I’m anxious to get back inside.’

The three-alarm fire, which was sparked by a power strip that short-circuited in an office on the fourth floor, did not result in any injuries and was quickly snuffed out by firefighters, Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said. Investigators estimated the damage at $750,000 and said four people were displaced.

Three minutes after the Fort Avenue blaze was reported, Hub firefighters were called to Child Street in Jamaica Plain, where residents said another roof fire was threatening to consume a three-story, single-family home.

That fire, which displaced seven and caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, broke out after someone used a planter as an ashtray, MacDonald said. There were no reported injuries.

‘Two roof fires in occupied buildings at the same time in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain this afternoon. No injuries at either one,’ Boston Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn tweeted after the fires were extinguished. ‘The benefits of having a fully-staffed department to respond when needed. My thanks to our firefighters, officers and chiefs.’