EVERETT, Mass. --
An Everett firefighter is being credited with saving the lives of a disoriented family of four from their burning home on Tuesday.
Everett Deputy Fire Chief John Berghello was the first one at the scene after the fire broke out in the Bow Street neighborhood at about midnight. He was able to safely lead the dazed and disoriented family down a set of back stairs from their third-floor apartment.
"They were just huddled there. I couldn’t really see through the smoke. I just got them all out. There were three adults and one child," he said.
The three-alarm fire started in an abandoned unit of a multi-family building, but quickly spread to occupied units next door.
"When I opened the door, flames just shot right out. It was engulfed," witness George Heineck said.
The fire quickly spread to three alarms, drawing on the resources of 75 firefighters who arrived to find that several of the fire hydrants were not working.
As crews battled the blaze, one side of the building collapsed.
"The main problem was the collapse, that created most of our problems. We did have some water problems too. We had a couple of dead hydrants," Everett Fire Chief David Butler said.
About 12 residents in the occupied house next door were evacuated unharmed, but two firefighters suffered minor injuries when the wall collapsed.
"We had some firefighters working that side of the building and it came very unexpected," Butler said.
An illegal apartment was found in the building's basement.
The damage to the building is estimated to be $700,000 to $800,000.
Officials said since the fire started in an empty unit, it is being considered suspicious.
Copyright 2010 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
