Person Flown To Hospital After Fire At Tewksbury Apartment

TEWKSBURY, MA — A person was flown to the hospital following a fire at a Tewksbury apartment Monday morning, according to fire officials.

The fire was reported at 1775 Andover St. Firefighters responded to find smoke at the building.

Subscribe

A sprinkler had activated and contained the fire to the apartment where it started.

Firefighters found the resident in the apartment and removed him from the building.

He was taken by ambulance to Lowell General Hospital. He was then taken by Med Flight to a Boston-area hospital for further treatment.

Firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control, then checked the surrounding areas and investigated the cause of the fire.

Tewksbury Fire Chief Joe Kearns said the incident demonstrates the importance of functioning sprinkler systems.

"The sprinkler system did exactly what it was designed to do," Kearns said in a statement. "The activation of that single sprinkler head contained the fire to the area of origin and prevented it from spreading, giving our firefighters additional time to locate and assist the occupant."

Kearns also credited the firefighters, EMTs and dispatchers who responded to the incident.

"This was a great example of everyone working together — from the dispatchers at Northern Middlesex Regional Emergency Communications Center to our firefighters and EMS personnel on scene," Kearns said. "Their quick actions helped bring the fire under control and get the occupant the medical attention he needed."