WORCESTER – A couple who lived together in Worcester for more than 20 years died in tragic house fire late Tuesday night. Juana Candelario, 59, and her husband of more than 30 years, 62-year old-Daniel Gonzalez, were trapped on the first floor of the triple decker on Hancock Street, relatives told WBZ-TV.
“A really complex situation”
When firemen arrived just after 11:30 p.m., the multi-family home was completely engulfed in flames and there were reports of people trapped inside. They located the pair and freed them while they frantically scoured the first level. Gonzalez and Candelario were taken to the hospital and later passed away.
“When you have the reports of people trapped, simultaneously trying to do rescues and fire suppression, it’s a really complex situation to try and handle,” Adam Roche, Assistant Fire Chief, said.
Neighbour Alexis Kostas observed, “All I see is people rushing out, and then roaring fire, busting out on the side of the building.”
According to Roche, the first floor living room is where the fire started. Twelve residents, including some of the victims’ children and grandkids, lived on the second and third floors and managed to escape.
Hours after the fire, they consoled each other outside the house. “It was very difficult. I couldn’t sleep,” Neighbor Ksenia List told WBZ. “It was very difficult because we don’t really know the cause of it.”
2 firefighters hurt
The Assistant Fire Chief referred to the efforts of two firefighters as nothing short of heroic, and they were admitted to the hospital due to tiredness.
“Our firefighters did a valiant job, they really leaned back on their strategies and tactics to try and get to a better outcome here,” Roche told the media.
Sadly, though, several people—including a dog and three cats—could not be saved.
“There’s a lot of families in there and that’s pretty sad, because it’s very unfortunate to know that two people passed away,” stated Kostas.
Both the origin of the incident and the presence of functional smoke detectors are being investigated. Roche reported that the fire was out in fifteen minutes, but the firefighters are devastated because they were unable to reach the first level.
About The Author
