Woman dead in fire at Braintree Village apartment complex off Union Street

BRAINTREE – A 59-year-old woman has died in an apartment building fire in Braintree.

Acting Braintree Fire Chief Freddie Viola said his department received a 911 call around 10:30 p.m. for smoke in a 12-unit apartment building at 26 McCusker Drive in the Braintree Village Apartment complex off Union Street.

Viola said firefighters entered the building and saw light smoke in the hallways that was traced to Apartment 4 on the first floor.

"We made entry with a hose line and made it back to the bedroom that was heavily engulfed in flames," Viola said. "Once we knocked the heavy fire down, we found the victim on bed, and she was pronounced deceased."

The woman's name has not been released.

The building is not equipped with sprinklers, but Viola said the smoke detectors and fire alarms were in working order.

He said the cause of the fire is under investigation by his department and state police and fire officials.

Residents, pets displaced

Viola said 25 other people and several pets were safely evacuated from the building. No animals died in the fire.

"The 11 other apartments had minimal damage because of the quick actions of the firefighters," he said.

The residents were provided with shelter by Peabody Properties, which owns Braintree Village, and the Red Cross. While he couldn't say for certain when those people would be able to return home, he did say it would likely be at least 48 hours.

Braintree Village contains 324 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments spread out on the property through several stand-alone buildings.

Assessing the damage

The fire caused an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 in damages, Viola said, adding that a cleaning crew was already on hand waiting to start work once the firefighters left.

By 8:30 a.m. Friday, the only signs of the fire were the apartment's boarded up windows along with a property management truck and an electrician's van.

A Peabody Property employee came outside the building but declined to answer any questions.

David R. Smith covers breaking, trending and restaurant news for The Patriot Ledger. He can be reached at Drsmith@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Fire at Braintree Village apartments on McCusker Drive kills woman