Hoarder House Fire Kills Man, Boston Firefighters Save Second Victim
By By Jonathan Ng
Source Boston Herald
Jul. 21 -- A 51-year-old man has died after fire ripped through a Roxbury home early Saturday morning. A second man was saved.
Boston firefighters responded to a home at 52 Rockland St. at about 4 a.m. Saturday, Boston fire officials said in a tweet.
A second alarm was ordered. Boston fire Deputy Chief Andre Stallworth said firefighters faced difficult conditions due to the hot weather and hoarding inside the house.
"Because of some hoarding conditions, we had to make our way to the second and third floor, took us a while," Stallworth told reporters at the scene. "We had great difficulty getting to the third floor. We had sagging conditions so that's always an issue, because of collapse potential. We were able to maintain our position, effect a rescue, put the fire out, overhaul the area and get to the location of the fire."
"We did have a fatality, one resident succumbed to their injuries," Stallworth said. "Because of the hot weather and the conditions, we have to rotate members out and keep them hydrated," Stallworth said.
Firefighters remained on scene to check for hot spots.
By late Saturday morning, windows on the second and third floor were boarded up.
Stallworth said the fire remains under investigation, which officials estimate caused about $350,000 in damages.
A man rescued from the building was taken to an area hospital and will receive assistance from the mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services, Boston fire officials said.
The deceased man's identity has not been released. No other people were in the building at the time of the fire.
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