A massive overnight fire swept through a Chelsea apartment building early Wednesday, displacing 50 residents and sending one person to the hospital for smoke inhalation. The building, located at 185 Washington Avenue, was ablaze with firefighters from multiple communities, including Everett, Boston, Winthrop, and Cambridge, responding to the scene. Extensive efforts were required to bring the fire under control, with the blaze starting around 12:30 a.m. and being subdued by 5 a.m., as reported by the WHDH.

As crews fought the fire both inside and outside the building, all residents were eventually accounted for. According to Chelsea Fire Chief John Quatieri, the help of first responders was paramount. "Thanks to the swift and coordinated efforts of our first responders, the fire was brought under control within a few hours," a city representative told WHDH. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Chelsea Fire Department.

Residents experienced a chaotic evacuation, as described by Samy Legzouli, who lives in said building. "I smelled the smoke and it was a really heavy smell cause of the carbon dioxide and I think thats what caused a lot of people to leave, not even the fire itself," Legzouli recounted in an interview with WHDH. "Completely honest, it was just a whole disarray of a situation. I don’t think anybody, we were all scattered, I don’t know, I just put on my shoes and ran out the house with my baby sister," they added.

Footage captured by local resident David Rentas highlighted the severity of the situation, showing the fire engulfing multiple floors. "I hope there’s nobody in there," Rentas is heard saying in the video. The displaced are being assisted at the Collaborative Shelter on Sixth Street, where efforts are being coordinated to arrange temporary housing, as shown in coverage by Boston25 News.

Neighborhood resident Lili Rodriguez was quoted describing, "Never have I ever seen a fire flare up so many times and so much water coming down,” in an account to WHDH. "The street was flooded, the main entrance, the water was coming down like a river and they still couldn’t put it down," Rodriguez recalled. Fortunately, no firefighters were injured in the incident. The situation is still developing, and updates will be provided as the investigation continues.