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One person rescued from three-alarm blaze in Revere

Print | Comments () Posted by Martin Finucane September 23, 2010 06:10 PM

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Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

Resident John Bottari comforted his cat Piddles as firefighters battled the blaze.

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

REVERE -- At least one person had to be rescued today after he became trapped in a triple-decker in Revere that caught fire. The burned building may be an illegal rooming house, said Revere Fire Chief Gene Doherty.

Revere assessor's photo

Michael Zaccaria, operations chief for Action Emergency Services, a private company, and Revere Patrolman Gerard Salvati together entered the first floor of the home on Dana Street this afternoon while firefighters battled the three-alarm blaze.

A woman had exited the house and said her father was trapped inside, Zaccaria said.

He said he and the police officer followed the woman inside and found her father, who was passed out on the floor of his bedroom and hooked up to an oxygen tank.

He said the smoke and heat were overwhelming when they first entered. "It's like hitting a brick wall," Zaccaria said.

Zaccaria said he carried the man out while the officer tended to the woman, whom they had tried to keep from re-entering the home. She was injured in a fall when they were inside, Zaccaria said.

He said the man, who is in his 50s, regained consciousness outside and declined medical treatment, along with his daughter, who appeared to be in her 20s.

Salvati, the police officer, said the rescue was difficult, but part of the job.

"We help them and save them," he said. "Whatever we have to do, that's our job."

Salvati added that firefighters on the scene had a much harder job putting out the fire.

Doherty, the Revere fire chief, said firefighters responded at about 2 p.m. to 16 Dana St., which eventually grew into a three-alarm fire. He said the fire started in the rear of that building and quickly spread to a second multi-family building at 1580 North Shore Road.

John Bottari, 60, lives on the third floor of the North Shore Road building and said he and his wife exited the home when someone walking by told them to get out. He said he saw black smoke coming from the roof.

Bottari said he and his wife, Shannon, were able to bring two of their cats with them but a third one, Precious, was unaccounted-for.

"She's still up there," he said. "They can't find her."

Bottari said he left his wallet in the home with all of his identification, as well as the couple's personal papers.

"We'll lose everything," he said.

Doherty estimated preliminary damages to both properties at more than $500,000. He said the Dana Street building is a total loss. He said the city was investigating whether the Dana Street building was an illegal rooming house.

The chief said it is unclear how the fire started and as many as 20 people may have been driven out of the homes. Doherty said his department and the state fire marshal's office are investigating the cause of the fires.

He said there were no immediate reports of anyone being taken to the hospital.