Smoky Apartment Fire Routs Scores at Windsor Gardens-September 7, 1967

A smoky mid-afternoon fire caused between $15,000 and $20,000 in damage to a 22-unit apartment building at 150 Engamore Lane within the Windsor Gardens complex yesterday, forcing scores of residents to flee and displacing about 50 people for the night.

The blaze was discovered around 3:53 p.m. when three sharp-eyed youths—12-year-olds Barton Guckenburg of 200 Engamore Lane and Steven Cain of 29 Fieldbrook Road, along with Steven LaRose of 700 Landsdowne Road—noticed dense black smoke pouring from the windows of a basement playroom. The boys ran through the building banging on doors and shouting warnings, alerting residents before flames could trap them.

Deputy Fire Chief John Howard stated that the fire originated in a terrace-level storage bin before spreading to a recreation room, a hallway, and six apartments on the garden level. Dense smoke and heat heavily damaged the remaining 16 units on the upper floors. Four local engine companies and a ladder truck responded, aided by a Westwood Fire Department ladder truck on standby, bringing the fire under control in 35 minutes and extinguishing it fully by 6:00 p.m. The state fire marshal’s office launched an investigation into the cause.

Daring Rescues and Displaced Residents

Among those evacuated was 9-day-old Sarah Mottaz, who was inside a second-floor apartment with a nurse, Mrs. Amelia Kiesel of West Roxbury, while her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clayton E. Mottaz, were away. Mrs. Kiesel recalled, “This is the first time in all my life I’ve ever been through anything like this. The whole house was black with smoke.” Another resident, Mrs. Barry C. Brooks, had her 1-year-old son, Erik, evacuated via fire escape by babysitter Jan Kates of 90 Bruce Road.

Roughly 50 displaced residents found temporary lodging hosted by neighbors or arranged in local motels by the Windsor Gardens management. Deputy Howard noted that the 600-unit complex had experienced six minor terrace-level fires over the preceding three years, though frequency had dropped following an arrest made in connection with a prior arson incident more than a year earlier.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger