Sep 17, 2009 5:52 pm US/Eastern
Teen Killed In Leominster House Fire
LEOMINSTER (WBZ) ―
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The teen was found on the third floor of the multi-family home.
WBZ
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The teen was found on the third floor of the multi-family home.
WBZ
A teenage boy was killed in a two-alarm house fire in Leominster late Wednesday night.
It happened at a two-family home on West Street just before 11 p.m.
16-year-old Jakob Chesbrough was found on the third floor of the multi-family house. He was rushed to UMass Memorial HealthAlliance Leominster Campus, where he was pronounced dead. It's believed he died from smoke inhalation.
"It's tragic. It's tragic," said Jakob's friend, Blake Goodwin. "He was everybody's best friend."
His 15-year-old sister, Torrie, called for help from her second floor bedroom window and was rescued by firefighters. "I just grabbed her and said, 'Come here. You're coming with me," said firefighter Charlie Muth as he described the rescue.
Their 13-year-old sister, Caitlyn, crawled onto the roof of a porch and was helped by some good Samaritans.
Their parents were not home at the time. The mother was at work and the father was out for the evening.
Investigators believe the fire started in the kitchen. The smoke detectors were working in the first floor apartment of the home, but it is unclear if the second and third floor had working fire alarms.
Fire investigators believe Jakob's sisters probably survived because their bedroom doors were closed, which kept the smoke at bay. Jakob's bedroom door was open.
The cause of the fire is still not known, but investigators say it does not appear to be suspicious.
According to friends, Jakob was a student in the Center for Technical Education at Leominster High School. "It's a loss," said firefighter Scott LaPrade. "Especially at a young age."
WBZ's Eileen Curran contributed to this report.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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