A 54-year-old Watertown firefighter has died from an apparent heart attack while fighting a two-alarm house fire Friday morning.
In a news conference, Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn said the department received a call for a house fire in the city at about 10 am Friday morning. He said the firefighter collapsed during the course of fighting the fire and was transported to Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge where he was later pronounced dead.
Witnesses said other firefighters performed CPR on the fallen firefighter before he was transported to the hospital, said a report published by Wicked Local.
The identity of the firefighter was not initially released.
According to a report published by NBC Boston 10, it is not clear if the fallen firefighter was inside the building when he collapse or outside.
State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said in a press conference that the fire started on the second floor and was contained to one room. The cause is not yet known but will be investigated by fire marshal’s office and the Watertown police and fire departments.
Police Chief Lawn said during the press conference that two people were rescued from the building during the fire. Wicked Local reported that the rescues were made by an off-duty Belmont fire dispatcher and a Watertown police officer. Two elderly people and two dogs were rescued from the fire, Wicked Local reported.
“This is a terrible, terrible loss,” Ostroskey said in the press conference.
