May 22, 2008 4:26 pm US/Eastern
5 Rescued, 2 Jump From Burning Worcester Home
WORCESTER (WBZ) ―
Five people were rescued and two others were forced to jump from a window to escape a burning triple-decker in Worcester early Thursday morning.
The three-alarm fire broke out in the home on Goulding Street around 4 a.m.
"It's really high from the second floor," Mary Grace Rabasto told WBZ as she covered her mouth with both hands and looked up at the window, which was framed by melted vinyl siding. "I don't know how I made it."
She and her husband Roel jumped from their second-floor apartment because the stairway was filled with smoke.
Five people from one family - including a one-year-old - were plucked by firefighters on a ladder truck from a third-floor window.
The five were treated for smoke inhalation, while one firefighter suffered burns to his neck. He was treated and released from a local hospital.
District Fire Chief Frank DiLiddo called the efforts by firefighters a "valiant rescue."
Investigators say the fire started in the rear of the first floor.
Investigators from the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the State Fire Marshall's office, Worcester police and fire departments stopped short of calling the fire arson, but say there are "reasons for concern."
"Our fire station is not a mile away from this scene right here, not even, and before they were even here, there was fire on all three floors," explained DiLiddo.
Worcester police detectives and a federal ATF agent were also at the scene.
Samples from the rubble were taken to the state lab for analysis. Results will tell arson investigators if the fire was deliberately set.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
