Firefighters Rescue Badly Burned Man from Marblehead Fire

Photo credit: 7News

Update, Wednesday, March 25 at 9 a.m.

Firefighters first received the call about the fire at 13 Sewall St., at 9:11 p.m. Tuesday, and the Engine 2 crew arrived at 9:15 p.m.

The Engine 2 crew of Lt. Grant Galvin, Firefighter Mark Borowski and Firefighter Eric Ridge learned from bystanders that there was a man trapped on the second floor and immediately began a rescue operation.

“They did a great job. It was tight quarters up that staircase,” Capt. Michael Porter said, speaking of the access up a back staircase to the man’s apartment.

Porter said a medical helicopter was requested for the man rescued from the second story apartment, but the response time was more than 30 minutes so the man was transported to the hospital via ambulance. His condition is unknown.

A second alarm was struck within minutes of the full fire response arriving. That alarm brought Swampscott, Lynn and Salem firefighting crews to the scene while Beverly and another Lynn crew covered the Marblehead station.

Porter said a damage estimate is not yet available, but noted that crews did “a heck of a job containing [the fire] to that one unit.”

“There’s smoke damage throughout the whole building, but they did a great job under difficult circumstances containing the fire to the one apartment,” Porter said. “They did a great job also just in the amount of water used to put out the fire. They kept the water damage to a minimum. I’ve seen a lot worse.”

Update, Wednesday, March 25 at 8:15 a.m.

Firefighters rescued a badly burned man from the second story of a Sewall Street building Tuesday night after a fire broke out in the man’s apartment.

Marblehead Fire Department Capt. Michael Porter said Marblehead Fire Engine 2 crews arrived on the scene at 13 Sewall Street to find the fire had vented out to the Jersey Street side of the building. On the sidewalk below, neighbors were yelling that a man was trapped on the second floor, Porter said.

The crew immediately went into rescue mode and accessed the second-story apartment via a back staircase. Firefighters opened the door to the apartment and found a man lying unconscious just on the other side of the door, Porter said. The victim was breathing when firefighters carried him down the stairs and to an ambulance waiting on the street below. He was badly burned, Porter said, but his current condition is unknown.

Firefighters also rescued a cat from the same apartment. It is believed the fire began in that unit, but the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

Five of the six units in the building were occupied at the time of the fire, Porter said. All the other occupants evacuated safely.

Earlier reports that police used a ladder to rescue a man and that there were two people injured were incorrect, Porter said.

Original article, Wednesday, March 25 at 7:45 a.m.

A Marblehead man was transported to the hospital with serious burns after a fire broke out at a Seawell Street home at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.

According to 7News, neighbors told firefighters who responded to the blaze that the man was stuck on the second floor of a six-unit building. Rescuers used a ladder to reach the man.

The Boston Globe reports that a second individual was injured in the two-alarm blaze.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Stay with Patch for additional info as it becomes available.