Pennsylvania Man Dies Trying To Fight Fire

Dec. 22, 2005
A firefighter was also hospitalized, having suffered second-degree burns.

A woman was pulled from her burning house Thursday night, but her son lost his life trying to put out the flames.

A firefighter was also hospitalized at Temple Hospital, suffering from second-degree burns. The woman was recovering at Einstein Hospital, NBC 10 News reported. The fire occurred in the 1500 block of Clearview.

"We had a citizen that we believe was trying to fight a fire when they should have been calling us and getting out," said Lloyd Ayers, of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Fire officials said firefighters, who were already in the area on a medical call, spotted the blaze and entered the home within a minute. They got the woman out, and then tried to rescue the man.

Firefighters said the man was trying to fight the fire on the second floor and was overcome by the heavy smoke.

"He wasn't deceased," Ayers said. "When we got him out, he had a shot. He died at the hospital."

Witnesses said the flames broke out at approximately 6 p.m. Fire officials said when the smoke had cleared, they made a disturbing discovery that could have made a difference.

"We found no smoke alarms on the second level," Ayers said. "We found a smoke alarms on the first-floor level that was unplugged."

Copyright 2005 by NBC10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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