Early-Morning Fire Displaces Five on Eliot Avenue

Brookline firefighters braved freezing temperatures this morning to put out a blaze that broke out in the first floor of a triple-decker on Eliot Avenue.

No one was injured in the fire, which left substantial damage to the unoccupied first-floor apartment, but five residents in the upper two apartments were evacuated and are being served by the Red Cross. One firefighter was treated for a minor injury to his ankle after he slipped on the frozen slope in front of the house.

Chief Peter Skerry said the owner of the property, who lives in one of the upper apartments, called 911 around 4:45 a.m. after he heard smoke alarms going off in the unoccupied apartment and went down to find the kitchen already in flames.

Temperatures were near 18 degrees when the call came in and conditions quickly became dangerous for firefighter after they arrived at 5 Eliot Ave. and started pouring water on the fire.

"When the ground is that cold it only takes a couple minutes for the flowing water to freeze and give you a nice glaze," Chief Skerry said. "It makes for pretty treacherous maneuvering."

According to the Brookline assessors database, the triple-decker at 5 Eliot Ave. was built in 1919 and was last valued at $670,100.

Skerry said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.