2 families homeless after Springfield fire

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Two Springfield families are homeless Sunday night after a fire destroyed their house on Quincy Street.

Eleven people lived at 285 Quincy Street; a single mother and her seven kids, and another woman and her two children. The mother of seven had already started Christmas shopping, and lost all the gifts in the fire.

The father of one of the women told 22News the moment he realized it was his daughter's home that was on fire.

“I was on my way over here to pick my granddaughter up,” said Clarence Jenkins. “As I was approaching this area I saw the smoke. I saw the flames and I figured out it was my daughter’s house.”

Carrie Baer, a friend of the family, said, “Everything she has is completely gone. She's not going to be able to get it replaced. The kids, for Christmas, she doesn't know where she's going to go. She has seven kids, a single mom.”

Aide to the Fire Commissioner Dennis Leger told 22News the fire began outside in back of the house. The people who lived there suspect kids were lighting leaves on fire.