Man dies in 2-alarm fire at Mass. home
A 62-year-old man died in a two-alarm house fire in Salem Tuesday afternoon, according to the Salem Fire Department.
Multiple 911 callers reported heavy smoke coming from the two-family home at 18 Roslyn St. around 1:15 p.m., the fire department said in a press release. Before firefighters arrived, a newly retired Salem deputy fire chief who lives next door and a Salem police officer tried to enter the 2.5-story home.
The two first responders were pushed back by the flames and smoke, but Fire Chief Alan Dionne described their actions as "incredibly dangerous, but obviously heroic" during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
After arriving at the scene, firefighters quickly entered the wood-frame home to attack the fire and search for residents, the fire department said. After seeing the heavy smoke and flames and learning that there was likely someone still inside, authorities called for a second alarm.
One fire crew made their way to the home's third-floor apartment and discovered the man there, the fire department said. After firefighters got the man out of the home, an ambulance took him to Mass General Brigham hospital in Salem where he died of his injuries.
Hoarding conditions at the home made it difficult for firefighters to find the victim and extinguish the flames, Dionne said. The fire crew that went up to the third floor attacked the fire for more than five minutes before they found the man who died.
"When you find him, it's a very upsetting thing, and you do anything you can to get them down three flights of stairs. It's brutal," Dionne said. "[The fire crew] did everything they could. That guy had the best chance he possibly could because these guys tried their hardest."
Firefighters knocked down the main body of the fire within 15 minutes, but stayed at the scene until any remaining flames were extinguished, the fire department said. Lynn, Swampscott and Marblehead firefighters also responded to the scene.
No other injuries were reported, but the home has been deemed uninhabitable, the fire department said. State and local fire investigators are still determining the origin and cause of the fire.
Authorities are withholding the identity of the man who died until his next of kin have been notified of his death.
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