WESTBOROUGH – A Westborough resident is seeking a new home after a fire ripped through his South Street apartment early on Sunday, June 2.
Thomas Cardinale said he and his girlfriend were awakened by a smoke alarm shortly before 2 a.m. They tried going down the stairs, but the smoke was too thick. They managed to get onto the roof of the former Décor building, where personnel from the Westborough Fire Department got them safely down.
“It was so scary,” he said.
The apartment, at the back of the ThaiMinal restaurant, sustained heavy damage, as did a van parked below.
Although he said he can salvage most of his clothes, Cardinale said he’s going to have a tough time finding an affordable place to live.
“Anything could help right now,” said Cardinale, who has lived in the apartment for about four years.
The owners of the restaurant were checking the damage as of Sunday morning. The Fire Department had to remove the two front windows while knocking out the fire.
The fire also caused some damage to the space that had just been vacated by Décor.
Tom Orlando, one of the building’s owners, said he had received a text message about the fire. He said there was some smoke damage inside, as well as some roof damage.
“We fared out pretty well,” he said. “It’s a hell of a wakeup call for a Sunday morning.”
Firefighters from Southborough, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Grafton, Upton and Framingham provided mutual aid at the scene, while firefighters from Hopedale covered Westborough stations.
The fire was brought under control around 2:40 a.m.
The Fire Department has assessed the damage at around $1 million.
The fire remains under investigation by the Westborough Fire Department and the District 14 Fire Investigation Unit.
