EVERETT, MASS. (WHDH) - Firefighters in Everett rescued a child from a burning building Wednesday morning.
The fire chief said the child was rescued from the third floor of a home on Hancock Street. Both the child and a firefighter were taken to the hospital.
Two Everett Department of Public Works employees, Jesse Winocur and Jason Papa, ran inside the building to try to help people inside.
“Looked up and I saw smoke coming through the roof, so I told him to stop. So we stopped in the middle of the road — we both got out, ran inside, kicked in doors,” Winocur said.
When they were inside the home, they could not see much due to the thick smoke.
“Couldn’t see a foot in front of you. Flames and the black smoke, it was like hitting a wall. Burning, coughing, it was bad. It was a bad fire,” Winocur said.
The men knew it was risky, but said they felt the need to help.
“People started filing out as we were banging on doors. Couldn’t see no more. The smoke was black. My eyes were burning. We finally got out. As we were coming out, the firefighter was coming in. We told him we couldn’t see no more, there might be somebody up there still,” Papa said.
Officials said everyone was out of the building, but firefighters were still on scene.
Both the firefighter and the child suffered from non-life threatening injuries. The firefighter has since been released from the hospital.
“He went up and saved the little girl. He’s a hero,” Wincur said. “She would’ve passed if it wasn’t for him.”
Those who live nearby say the city workers who jumped in to help are admirable.
“To go in? Incredible. It’s amazing that somebody would just do that on the spur of the moment, just race right in,” one neighbor said.
The blaze left many in the three-story building, including Sue Decarney, looking for somewhere else to stay. Between 14 to 15 people were displaced, according to the Red Cross.
“It’s not a very comfortable situation, even more on the day before the Fourth of July, it’s just awful,” Decarney said.
This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.
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