By Patrick McGroarty
News Editor

A four-alarm fire at a home on the corner of Woodworth and Walnut Streets brought 93 firefighters and 13 fire trucks to Port Norfolk on Tuesday. The fire intensified quickly in high winds and power lines on all sides of the two and a half story home complicated fire fighters' attempts to extinguish the flames.

Steve McDonald, a spokesman for the fire department, said at the scene that the fire department had received a call at 11:44 a.m. The fire had started minutes earlier in a second floor unit where occupants had been using a heat gun to thaw frozen pipes. Material surrounding the pipe had caught fire, and the blaze spread quickly in the high winds and dry conditions.

The four-unit house was home to five renters, and is owned but not occupied by Dorchester resident Teddy Ahearn.

All residents escaped unharmed, while three fire fighters sustained minor injuries; two for small cuts, one for smoke inhalation.

The fire department estimated that the blaze and subsequent water damage had caused nearly $900,000 in damage.

Ahearn said that he would find room for the displaced tenants in other units that he owns, that he was grateful no one was hurt, and that he hoped to restore the home in the months ahead.

"I just want to thank the Boston Fire Department," he said. "Those guys did an incredible job here."