MA Boy, Man Die in Separate Weekend Fires

A 6-year-old boy and an adult man died following a pair of separate fires over the weekend.

“The Orleans Fire Department responded to a call for smoke and fire in a residence at 177 Route 6A at about 8:40 last night. On arrival, firefighters observed smoke and fire coming from the second floor of the 2 1/2-story building,” the state’s Department of Fire Services said in a Sunday morning statement.

Crews at the scene were informed a 6-year-old child was still in the structure, leading to a second alarm call for assistance from surrounding towns.

“Firefighters immediately made entry to conduct a search. They located one seriously injured person, who was transported to an area hospital. That person later succumbed to their injuries,” the department said. The name of the child is not being released, they said.

Four others were injured and taken to hospital, according to the department, and a police officer was treated at the scene but did not require further care.

The fire did not spread to surrounding structures, was extinguished in about 20 minutes, and does not appear suspicious, officials said.

“Local and state officials have determined that the fire was accidental,” they said in an emailed statement following a brief investigation.

A second fire broke out in Medford about eight hours later.

“At approximately 4:20 a.m., on Sunday, February 5, 2023, the Medford Emergency Communications Center received a call from a party located in Medford Square for the report of a fire in the area of Mystic Avenue,” a release from the Medford Police Department reads, in part.

According to officials, crews arrived at 58 Swan Street to find the commercial building there already engulfed in a “working fire.” After making their initial assessment of the fire, first responders were forced to call for aid from surrounding departments.

Not long after activating the second alarm, according to responders, a person arrived on the scene and informed emergency personnel an employee at one of the building’s tenant businesses had been sleeping there.

According to information on Google Maps, the building at 58 Swan Street housed Eastern Tool Corporation, OWL Engineering, and the Coastal Milling Works Group. The statement from the Medford P.D. did not indicate which business might have been employing the as yet unidentified dead man.

“Firefighters located the man inside a bathroom and began lifesaving measures. He wastransported to Massachusetts General Hospital and later succumbed to his injuries,” the department said.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is attempting to establish the man’s identity and determine his cause of death, the department said. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and is under investigation.

A third fire, at 147 Plymouth Road in Wareham, broke out just after 5:30 a.m. Sunday but resulted in no injuries after the occupants of the burning home were able to evacuate on their own. That fire is also under investigation, according to a release from the Wareham Police Department.

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