You can help. On Sunday, August 10, 18 Somerville residents including three children, as well as pets, were displaced by a fire on Powderhouse Boulevard that left nine apartments at Clarendon Hill Housing uninhabitable. Water damage also affected additional neighboring unit Fortunately, after multiple rescues, everyone got out safely, but significant challenges remain for our neighbors who now face replacing their ruined belongings from prescriptions and personal products, to beds, food in their pantries, and school clothes and supplies.  

Fortunately, the Somerville Housing Authority is working swiftly to rehouse these residents, and city departments and partners are coordinating temporary shelter and supports while those units are readied, but your help is needed as our neighbors rebuild their lives. 

Most have lost all or most of their belongings. If you are able, please donate to the Somerville Homeless Coalition’s EMERGENCY FUND to both help them put their lives back together and to let them know their community cares. Donations of any size will help. An outpouring of support for victims of the recent Wheatland fire to this fund made all the difference in helping them back on their feet. 

The fund is designed to provide immediate relief to the affected residents and will help other neighbors in need as they face future emergencies. Your financial donation will support a range of needs from meals, household products, and transportation to pet supplies, shoes, and more. 

“Once again our brave firefighters were there to save lives, and now the work of recovery begins,” said Mayor Katjana Ballantyne. “As our staff surge supports, the community can become part of the caring response by supporting the Somerville Homeless Coalition Emergency Fund, which can quickly provide the kind of direct help to individuals that makes all the difference in a crisis.” 
 
HOW TO DONATE 

• You can donate at bit.ly/SHCEmergencyFund and select “Emergency Fund” to support these families, students, and residents. 
• No donation is too small.  
• Only financial donations are sought at this time.  

Official Information from the Somerville Fire Department: 

At 11:05 p.m. on Sunday, August 10, the Somerville Fire Department was alerted to a fire at 268 Powderhouse Boulevard. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered heavy fire in a second-floor apartment with multiple occupants reportedly trapped. A second alarm was called. 

“A lot of work had to happen in a short amount of time to produce a successful outcome. This was an excellent response by Somerville Fire crews,” said Chief Charles Breen. 

Crews’ work included stretching hose lines to control heavy fire in the originating apartment unit and prevent it from spreading, raising ladders to rescue trapped occupants needing help at windows, and searching through near zero visibility and high heat to locate a missing occupant.  

Three adults were removed over aerial ladder, one child was removed over ground ladder, one occupant jumped from the third floor onto a mattress provided by another resident, and one unconscious occupant was pulled by firefighters from the third floor. Firefighters also rescued one cat. Four occupants were transported to local hospitals for treatment, and four Somerville firefighters suffered minor injuries.  

The three-story apartment complex, a public housing building, sustained extensive fire, smoke, and water damage. A total of 9 apartment units were deemed uninhabitable, displacing those residents. 

The investigation indicates that the fire is not suspicious and most likely started with an unattended candle: Somerville Fire Most Likely Started with Unattended Candle | Mass.gov