Crime & Safety

7 Killed in Lowell Blaze

Victims were found on two separate floors of the building, which is reportedly owned by a Chelmsford company.

Fire officials confirmed Thursday that seven people were killed in an early morning Lowell apartment fire that displaced an additional 43 people.

MyFoxBoston.com reported that a police officer on patrol came upon the flames just before 4 a.m. on Thursday morning. The news station reported that multiple residents jumped out windows to safety, and several people ran from the building to a nearby fire station.

According to a report in the Lowell Sun, the three-alarm fire took place at 73-81 Branch Street, a mixed use building that the newspaper reported is owned by Sanjay Patel of DK RAM LLC, a Chelmsford company.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, Lowell officials, and the office of State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan are all investigating the fatal fire. There were reports that fireworks had been witnessed in the area before the flames broke through the roof, but Coan told media outlets that no one should jump to the conclusion that fireworks were the cause of the incident.

Lowell officials have set up a fund to assist the nearly 50 residents who have been impacted by the fire. Donations can be sent to the Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union for The Branch Street Fire Victims Relief Fund.

The American Red Cross of Massachusetts tweeted just before noon on Thursday that clothing and other donations for the Lowell victims will be acceped by the Wish Project beginning Friday. Residents are asked to collect items Thursday and drop them off with the organization on Friday.

"This is a tragic day in the city of Lowell with this horrific fire," Lowell Mayor Rodney M. Elliott said, according to a Boston Globe report. "The entire city mourns the loss."


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