A college student dressed as a nerd for Halloween morphed into a superhero yesterday, plunging into a burning triple-decker in Mission Hill to help save frantic residents caught in a monster fire during the height of the weekend nor'easter.
Nick Intonti rushed into the six-family building at about 12:45 a.m. and started banging on doors to get everyone out. He even went back up the stairs when he feared someone was trapped.
"I heard noise from the second floor so I went back up there and there was a woman up there coming down the stairs. ... She was coughing, and she couldn't really walk," said Intonti, who helped the woman to the street as 130 firefighters battled the blaze.
"It was just, if people are in there I wasn't going to stand by and not do anything," said the 20-year-old from Reading, who works as a chef and studies at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Cambridge. "Thinking about it, it's probably a dangerous idea. I guess adrenaline took over."
But, he added, he could feel the fury of the fire closing in fast.
"It was literally roaring," Intonti said. "It was the loudest fire I ever heard.
"Hot plumes of black smoke just came out. The whole apartment was just completely black. I started coughing so I pulled my shirt on over my mouth."
Officials said the blaze on Calumet Street devoured the six-family complex, leaving 101 residents, along with their 30-odd pets, homeless.
Intonti was at a friend's Halloween party next door when the revelers saw a glow reflected in the kitchen window. Outside, flames 30 feet high were spewing from the deck of the multi-family home.
"It was kind of a scene of confusion and chaos. He obviously just didn't think about it," said the party's host, Northeastern University student Brendan Shannon, 20. "That's just the kind of kid he is."
The five-alarm fire was caused by a lint back-up in a clothes dryer on the second floor, where improper ventilation led to overheating, Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said. The building lost its roof and will likely have to be torn down. The total damage is estimated at $1.2 million.
Two residents were treated for smoke inhalation and at least one firefighter suffered minor injuries, MacDonald said.
"I think everyone was just pretty much shocked. It's Halloween night in a college town and it's all young kids and then something like that -- it sort of brings you down to earth," Intonti added. "Life's not all fun and games."
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
