Fire destroys Somerville restaurant, barber shop. "One of the toughest fights I've had," chief says.

A restaurant and a barber shop in Somerville, Massachusetts were destroyed in a fire that the chief called "one of the toughest fights" he's ever had.

Flames broke out in a building that's home to several businesses on Broadway around 10 p.m. Monday and burned through the night.

Somerville Fire Chief Charles Breen said firefighters went into the basement, but it became too dangerous, so they had to pull out and attack the fire from the outside.

"It was a very stubborn fire," Breen said. "It's difficult for us when we go to an exterior attack because we're not able to go in and open up the walls, the ceilings, so it was sort of behind the eight ball. The fire was able to spread around and eventually the roof collapsed."

Two firefighters were hurt.

"They got an electrical shock," Breen said, adding that both were sent to the hospital, treated and released. "They're doing okay."

The Rei Da Picanha restaurant and the barber shop next door were destroyed. Both were closed when the fire started, the chief said.

There's no word yet on a cause. Breen said there was smoke damage in the Santander Bank next to the restaurant and other nearby stores had smoke and water damage.

"It was a very tough fight. It was one of the toughest fights I've had," Breen said. "We're fortunate that there were no serious injuries and that we didn't lose the entire business block."