12 displaced after Whitman fire totals building

Twelve people are displaced after a five-alarm, quick-moving fire gutted a multi-family home in Whitman Wednesday night, leaving damage estimated over $1 million, according to officials.

Roughly 80 firefighters from more than 15 departments were called on to tackle the blaze at the six-unit, 316-318 Commercial St. home as flames spread throughout the three-story building, a statement from the Whitman Fire Department said.

“This fire spread extremely fast and I want to commend our firefighters and those from our surrounding communities who responded to help put this fire out as quickly as they did,” Chief Timothy Grenno said in the release. “We are thankful that no one was hurt and that all residents were quickly able to be accounted for.”

First responders initially received a call reporting the fire around 7:45 p.m. and soon found flames shooting from a second-story window and spreading upward when they arrived at the scene, officials said.

Mutual aid from surrounding communities was brought in as the fire intensified. Grenno struck a fifth alarm around 9:25 p.m., moments before firefighters were able to knock down some of the heaviest flames, according to the statement.

The building was deemed a total loss, with an estimated $1 million-plus in damage — a figure that includes personal possessions, according to officials.

The dozen residents displaced Wednesday night were provided assistance in finding shelter from the American Red Cross, the statement said.

The fire started in a second-floor apartment, according to the results of a preliminary investigation. Officials said the cause of the fire remained under investigation by the Whitman Fire Department and the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services later in the day, although the fire did not appear to be suspicious as of early Thursday morning.

Grenno said the building had been up to code in the past, but he did not know when the last inspection was conducted.