NEW BEDFORD - Over a dozen people are displaced after a fire rips through a North End apartment building.

New Bedford fire officials tell WBSM News the fire was reported before 6 P.M. Thursday night at the three-decker home at 59 Covell Street.

The fire appears to have started on the second floor. All of the occupants, including a wheelchair-bound tenant on the first floor, were able to safely escape.

Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control within an hour. The building suffered considerable damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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