Crews battle fire at apartment building

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - A large fire at an apartment building Thursday forced firefighters to rescue trapped residents from their windows and left five firefighters with injuries including second-degree burns.

Worcester District Fire Chief Frank DiLiddo said he did not believe anyone who lived in the five-story building was injured in the blaze, which erupted at about 2:30 p.m. and threatened a nearby church. DiLiddo said five firefighters sustained injuries that included second-degree burns, but more details were not immediately available.

DiLiddo described the blaze as an "intense firestorm" and said firefighters aboard the first ladder truck on the scene made "several heroic rescues."

The brick building, built in the 1890s, did not have sprinklers, DiLiddo said.

At one point, embers spread to the steeple at the Pleasant Street Baptist Church next door, and firefighters were seen dousing the flames. The church did not sustain any serious damage.

Robert Brewer, one of the residents, said he was on the third floor and escaped to a hallway that was filled with black smoke.

The Red Cross was providing shelter and assistance to those who lived in the building.

Investigators were trying to determine what sparked the fire.