< Back to front page Text size – +

Electrical cords eyed as possible cause in Lynn fire

E-mail|Link|Comments () November 4, 2009 08:07 PM

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Fire officials are looking for the cause of a two-alarm fire in Lynn last night that injured six people, one of them critically.

Rescuers were called to the single-family home at about 9:30 p.m. One of the five people who lived there escaped uninjured but four others suffered smoke inhalation injuries, including a man who is in stable but critical condition today at Boston Medical Center, police said. Two police officers were also injured by smoke inhalation.

Fire officials said they didn't believe the fire was intentionally set. They said they believe that the fire may have originated on the back porch of the building, where two refrigerators were connected to an extension cord, which in turn was connected to a power strip, which in turn was connected to an outlet in the home's kitchen.

Most of the people in the house were believed to be related, with the exception of one man, about 57 or 58 years old, who lived in the basement.

Officer Tom Hazard, a 12-year veteran of the force, said he was the first rescuer to arrive at the fire. While civilians had already pulled other people out of the house, people screamed that there was one person still inside.

Hazard went into the smoky house six different times to try to rescue the man, but was repelled by the smoke each time.

One time, Hazard grabbed an arm or a leg, but couldn't pull the person out because of debris in the hallway, which he said, was "trash and debris from floor to ceiling."

"Is this you?" Hazard said.

He heard a faint, "Yes."

The victim eventually stopped talking. Five to 10 minutes later, firefighter showed up with breathing apparatus and, guided by Hazard, rescued the person, who was the most seriously injured victim.

Lynn Police Department Acting Chief Kevin F. Coppinger said, "They performed a very heroic and commendable act."