PLYMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - One person was killed and several others were injured after a fire ripped through a home in Plymouth on Friday, according to officials.
At least two people injured in the fire were reportedly in intensive care units as of Friday afternoon.
Firefighters were first called to the residence on Post N Rail Ave. around 5:20 a.m. to find flames shooting out of the roof.
Authorities said five people were inside the home at the time, with three able to get out on their own. Firefighters rescued another person, later identified as an adult woman, who was transported from the scene in critical condition, according to Plymouth Fire Chief Neil Foley. The state Department of Fire Services said one of the three people who got out on their own was also transported.
Authorities had not publicly identified the person who died as of early Friday afternoon, though Foley said the victim was an adult male. The man and the woman taken from the scene in critical condition are believed to be the couple that owned the property.
The Department of Fire Services said two Plymouth firefighters also suffered minor injuries at the scene.
According to officials, a MedicAlert likely triggered by one of the residents helped alert dispatchers to the fire.
Foley addressed the fire in a statement.
“On behalf of the Plymouth Fire Department, I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this morning’s tragedy,” Foley said. “Our thoughts are with them right now.
He continued, saying working smoke alarms in this home “appear to have prevented an even greater loss of life.”
Foley said at the fire scene that the home that burned is located in an area that does not have fire hydrants. As a result, firefighters had to bring their own water supply to the scene.
Plymouth’s building inspector said the home was in tough shape before fire.
Debris were seen around the fire-damaged home on Friday.
Relatives, meanwhile, said one of the tenants, a 61-year-old man, jumped out of his bedroom window to escape the flames, experiencing close to a six-foot drop. The man’s sister said he is in an intensive care unit as a precaution while being treated for smoke inhalation.
The women taken from the fire scene in critical condition is also being treated in an intensive care unit. The state medical examiner was on scene Friday to remove the body of the man killed in the fire.
“We would see them and wave to them,” said Carol Trant, who evacuated from her daughter’s home when the nearby fire broke out. “They were very nice. It’s very tragic.”
The Department of Fire Services said the fire does not appear to be suspicious, citing preliminary evidence. The fire’s exact origin and cause remained under investigation as of Friday.
Firefighters were back at the home on Friday afternoon after neighbors said they spotted smoke. The Red Cross of Massachusetts is assisting those displaced by this fire.
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