An off-duty Boston firefighter helped save the lives of his wife and four neighbors as a gas-fueled blaze gutted a West Roxbury apartment building — one of three fires that crews battled during a span of just a few hours early Saturday morning.
The fire, which reached six alarms, was reported to the fire department shortly before 6 a.m. at 1214 Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway, a three-story apartment building that is part of a larger complex of rental and owner-occupied units.
The West Roxbury fire came in the midst of an intense few hours for the Boston Fire Department early Saturday morning: At 3:14 a.m., crews responded to a four-alarm blaze at 55 Dale St. in Roxbury; and at around 8 a.m., a two-alarm fire was reported at 3 Groom St. in Dorchester.
“Today was a very unique circumstance to have three multiple-alarm fires in that short amount of time,’’ said Boston firefighter Marc Sanders, a department spokesman, in a phone interview. “It is a very difficult task.’’
Despite the danger, there was no loss of human life, and no injuries reported at the fires on Dale and Groom streets.In West Roxbury, two firefighters and a resident were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, said Sanders.
Sanders said the two firefighters are recovering and doing well, but had no information on the resident’s condition Saturday afternoon.
Officials estimate about $2 million in damages in the West Roxbury fire, while the fires on Dale and Groom streets were each estimated at about $500,000, according to the Fire Department.
Investigators believe that careless disposal of smoking materials was the cause of the Dale Street fire, said Sanders. Officials werestill working Saturday afternoon on what caused the other two fires, he said.
All together, about 200 firefighters were involved in the three fires, said Sanders, who said the manpower and resources made available to the department by Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Commissioner Joseph Finn helped ensure there was no loss of life.
“I can’t stress enough that Mayor Walsh and Commissioner Finn have made a commitment to the city of Boston that safety is a priority,’’ said Sanders. “You really can’t put a price on saving a life.’’
The West Roxbury fire displaced 36 people, said Sanders, while 20 to 24 were displaced from the Roxbury blaze and another eight to 10 were displaced by the Dorchester fire, Jerome Smith, chief of civic engagement for the mayor’s office, told reporters at the West Roxbury scene.
The city is working with the Red Cross to find homes for those residents and is looking for vacant apartments in the city that can serve as temporary housing, he said.
“There are about 70 people we have to find homes for in the next couple days,’’ said Smith.
Among the West Roxbury residents who were displaced was a member of the department’s Ladder 26, who lived in the apartment building with his wife, Boston fire district Chief Scott Wahlen told reporters at the scene Saturday morning.
The firefighter banged on doors to get people out, and helped four residents and his wife escape on fire department ladders through second-floor windows, he said. Sanders did not identify the firefighter and said he did not want to speak to the media.
“With a gas fire burning and three floors of fire, he definitely saved a bunch of lives today,’’ said Wahlen.
During an earlier press conference at the scene, Finn told reporters that the department had received a number of calls reporting the fire.
The first crews arriving faced heavy fire roaring from the front of the building, and a gas line was ignited by the fire, Finn said. National Grid crews had to shut off the line before firefighters could knock down the blaze.
“Once the gas main ignited, it compounded the problem significantly,’’ said Finn. Fighting the fire while the gas line was leaking, he said, could allow gas to build up and cause an explosion.
Finn said investigators are looking into reports by some residents that they smelledan odor that smelled like “wood burning’’ in the hours before the fire broke out.
National Grid investigated four reports of a gas odor at the West Roxbury apartment complex in the past two years, most recently in February, said Danielle Williamson, a spokeswoman for the utility. In each case, investigators found no trace of gas, she said.
As crews worked at the scene Saturday, residents gathered in small circles, some sipped coffee, while others were wrapped in Red Cross blankets. And some sat onboard an off-duty MBTA bus parked near the scene, intended to keep residents warm in the chilly weather.
Nearby, the burnt hulk of the apartment building stood open to the elements, with some structural beams exposed and blackened by the fire.
A 40-year-old woman, who said she had lived in the complex with her 18-year-old daughter for about nine years, reported she smelled a strong odor, as if someone had a fireplace going, around 11 last night.
She said she was awakened around 5:50 a.m. with calls to evacuate.
“Somebody was banging on the windows, saying, ‘The building’s on fire!’’’ said the woman who declined to give her name.
She credits the good samaritan with saving the lives of residents. She said a fire alarm had been set off, but was barely audible. She said her car was also destroyed in the fire.
“I’m just glad everyone got out,’’ the woman said.
Eric Rizzo, 42, said he and his roommate were also woken up by someone pounding on the door of their second-floor unit around 6 a.m.
He said they had smelled smoke last night before going to bed, and as they fled the building, Rizzo said smoke permeated the air.
Rizzo didn’t even have time to put on shoes before fleeing, but a firefighter working at the scene gave him a black pair of sneakers from his truck, he said.
Rizzo lost oneof his two cats, but the other survived, he said. He said he’ll be staying with his roommate’s family for the time being after being forced from his home of about 10 years.
“This is our house,’’ said Rizzo. “It’s a nightmare.’’
Globe correspondents Felicia Gans and Lucas Phillips contributed to this report. John Hilliard can be reached at john.hilliard@globe.com.
