WINTHROP, MASSACHUSETTS
An early morning, two-alarm fire that scorched a Winthrop home has left one man dead, officials say — the third life claimed by a fire in the Bay State in less than 24 hours.
Firefighters responding to a reported blaze on Winthrop Shore Drive about 2 a.m. were met with fire and heavy smoke and immediately called for a second alarm.
Although the passing motorists who called in the fire banged on a first-floor door to alert residents, Winthrop Fire Chief Paul Flanagan said the first firefighters on scene were told that the occupant’s father was still on the second floor.
“There was heavy fire conditions on the second floor upon arrival, Winthrop firefighters stretched lines to the second floor and dragged out the occupant out of the second floor,” Flanagan said. The man, whose name and age were no released today, later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
The death comes after Watertown firefighter Joseph Toscano died yesterday after responding to a fire, and a woman died in a blaze in Bourne yesterday afternoon.
“Considering the loss that the fire service family suffered yesterday in Watertown and to have a fatal fire in your own town the following morning, it was difficult for the firefighters,” Flanagan said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Flanagan said.
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WINTHROP, Mass. —
One person died early Saturday morning after being critically injured in a two-alarm fire in Winthrop.
The building at 162 Winthrop Shore Drive caught fire around 1 a.m. while two people were inside. One of them was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, but did not survive. The victim was identified as 68-year-old attorney Charles Balliro.
"This brings the total number of MA fire deaths in 2017 to 23 civilians and one firefighter," said Jennifer Mieth, Public Information Officer for the Department of Fire Services.
Information about the cause of the fire was not immediately released.