By Richard C. Dujardin
PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Residents of a three-story house at 150-152 Newell Ave. were forced to flee after a fire broke out in the front of the building shortly before 9 p.m. Monday.
Third-floor resident Manuel Lopez said that when he woke to the smell of smoke he guided his three grandchildren outside and attempted to put out the fire with a garden hose, while a man on the first floor notified firefighters.
Battalion Chief Joseph Murray said his units were able to get the blaze out quickly, saying the fire started inside the exterior front wall between the first and second floor. He said it was likely that at least eight people who lived on the first and second floors would be displaced.