BOSTON -- Some 50 women were forced back into the streets Sunday when fire destroyed two floors of Rosie's Place, a shelter for homeless women in Boston's south end.
Deputy Fire Chief Gerald Hart said the fire, which caused an estimated $50,000 damage, started at about 4:30 p.m. and was under control about 75 minutes later.
Most damage was confined to the top two floors, which contained bedrooms and an attic.
About 50 people were eating in the building at the time and fled the blaze, authorities said. No one was seriously injured.
Rosie's Place, a 10-year-old shelter that feeds an estimated 90 women daily, was in a five-story brick townhouse on Washington Street. It also provides free clothing and lets women and their children stay in one of the 10 beds at no charge for seven consecutive nights.
'It was like home for me,' said Cynthia Garrett, 26, who had been staying at the shelter week at a time over the last four years.
'It's important to homeless women. They got nowhere else to go,' said Linda Zwickert, the shelter's bookkeeper.
'They could sleep here, eat here, shower here and change their clothes. All these things become important when you don't have a home - and Rosie's Place was home for a lot of women.'
One woman, estimated to be in her 50s, was treated at Boston City Hospital for minor injuries and then released.
Shelter staff members said about 50 homeless women were eating lunch in the dining area when the fire alarm sounded.
The evacuees were sent to other locations for overnight housing. Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn said, 'We'll find accommodations for these people. Rosie's Place was very important. We can't afford to loose any more of these facilities.'
