All Kevin Hyzak remembers from the early Saturday morning fire on Townsend Street was complete commotion.
"I was in bed. It was about 2 or 3 in the morning. All I remember was a sense of commotion. People started banging on the doors ... I wasn't sure what was going on," he said. "I tried to come down the stairs and I saw the billows of smoke coming out and I shot out into the street."
He and three others made it out safely.
Hyzak, an employee of Village Bank in Auburndale, said he was one of the four tenants renting a room in the more than 100-year-old Victorian at 9 Townsend St. Two others and the landlord all escaped; one other tenant was away on a business trip, Hyzak said.
He had been living in the home for close to six months. Following the fire Hyzak said he was put up in a hotel by the American Red Cross.
"The Red Cross has been absolutely incredible," he said. "They gave me a hotel for a few days. They gave me some cash to be able to buy food while I try get everything together."
Hyzak, originally from North Carolina, said he has a brother and a friend he'll be staying with in Worcester. He hopes to be able to move back to Waltham soon.
"Christmas is coming up so I guess I will be going to North Carolina. I guess you can say it's good timing," he said. "Everyone that lived there, I felt like was looking out for everyone else. (Landlord) Ted (Starr) was very kind and generous. He seemed to be feeling very guilty about the house burning down."
According to Deputy Fire Chief Cliff Richardson, five people lived at the home, including Starr who lived on the top floor and four occupants, who were renting rooms.
Yesterday afternoon, Starr declined comment to a Tribune photographer at the home, which stood boarded up with burned furniture and laundry strewn across the front lawn.
Richardson said Waltham firefighters initially stormed into the home but were forced out by the blaze sometime after 3 a.m.
"They did start an interior attack and the fire had grown to the point that we ordered everyone out of the building," he said, adding it took about two hours to get the blaze under control.
Richardson said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. The department is investigating whether a smoldering mattress placed outside the home could have ignited the blaze.
Representatives of the American Red Cross said that other tenants of the home were too distraught to speak with members of the media yesterday.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com
