HOPKINTON, MASS. (WHDH) - The Hopkinton community is mourning the loss of a man who was killed in a house fire early Sunday morning.
Crews responding to a reported fire on Hayward Street around 1:15 a.m. found heavy fire coming from the house and immediately requested mutual aid, according to Hopkinton Fire Chief William Miller.
When they learned that there were still two people in the house, crews made an aggressive internal search and found an older man in a hallway and an older woman in a bedroom, Miller said.
Officials say the man was pronounced dead at Milford Regional Medical Center.
The woman was taken to a Boston hospital to be treated for her injuries.
A dog also died in the fire.
“He was such a nice guy,” said Tom Smith, a friend of the victim.
Smith said he was supposed to see his friend Easter morning.
“I was just at the coffee shop because he has coffee with a bunch of us guys at Dunkin Donuts, and I said ‘I hope it wasn’t near Don’s house,'” Smith said. “And somebody called one of his best friends and said ‘Yeah it was Don, and he’s the one that died.'”
Smith said his friend was a talented musician and a supporter of veterans and the surrounding community, a sentiment echoed by the fire chief.
“Hopkinton’s a tight-knit community,” Miller said. “He’s been here a long time, he’s done a lot for the community, he’s done a lot for us here in the fire service and the police department.”
“Nobody ever expected this, so every day you should thank God you’re still here,” Smith said. “Because it can happen, you just don’t know when it’s going to happen.”
Officials say no operating smoke detectors were found in the home and the house is a total loss.
In a joint announcement Monday afternoon, state and local officials said the fire started on the home’s front porch. Officials also said the fire did not appear to be suspicious, saying “the potential factors that have been identified are all accidental.”
The exact cause of the fire remained under investigation.
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