Jun 15, 2008 4:52 pm US/Eastern
Four Rescued From Burning Building In Methuen
Jim Smith, WBZ Reporter
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Helen Martin's hands and face were blackened with soot, and she has a story to tell -- the story of how she made it out of her Methuen apartment with her life.
Fire on the first floor filled the building located at 80 Lowell Street, with thick smoke and flames -- turning it into a smoky oven. "It was so thick you could not see it, or breathe it. I couldn't see a door or anything. The heat would take your breath away."
Several other people were trapped, including a mother and her infant.
That's when Methuen firefighters arrived. They were able to rescue everybody. They pulled four victims out of the burning building and brought them down a ladder. "There were people hanging out the windows trapped screaming," said rescuer Mike Giarusso. "We got some out the front door. Then Ryan and I went up the ladder and got a woman out."
"It was from floor to ceiling smoke," described rescuer Ryan Fortune. "And fire was on the first floor and went up. That's why people were trapped."
Back at the fire scene, the last Methuen engine left, but survivors lingered. They were still in shock. "I didn't know if I was gonna live or die," said Michael Martin, a resident of the building. "You didn't know what was gonna happen."
The people living in the building told WBZ's Jim Smith the fire started on the first floor. That's where investigators are focusing.
Witnesses told WBZ at least one apartment resident left his unit and drove away right after the fire started.
Investigators also hinted that their work may also uncover other criminal activity unrelated to the actual fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Some residents said smoke detectors inside the building were not working.
No one was injured in the blaze.
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