A woman and her adult son died in a early morning fire that swept through a Lynn home, authorities said.
Three residents were able to escape the home but firefighters found the bodies of a man and a woman on the second floor, Lynn Fire Chief Dennis Carmody said.
A family member confirmed it was his mother and brother who died in the blaze.
"It's a sad morning in Lynn," said state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan at a hastily called press conference.
The fire in the two-story single family home on McKinley Terrace broke out about 5:30 a.m. and quickly went to two alarms, said Lynn Fire Chief Dennis Carmody. The house was fully involved when firefighters arrived on scene.
"There was fire going from the first floor to the second floor up through the roof," Carmody said. "The heat was intensive. Everyone was wearing their turnout gear but even then they were having difficulty with the heat."
Carmody said two search teams went into the home, one up the front stairs and one up the back stairs, where they found the bodies of a man and woman.
Three people in the basement of the home were able to escape on their own, but they were trapped in the backyard because the fire was so intense they could not get around it," Coan said.
"The people who did escape had a very short window of opportunity," Coan said.
The American Red Cross is assisting the three people who escaped the fire. Firefighters rescued a cat and five ferrets from the home.
The house is total loss, Carmody said. He and Coan said there were smoke alarms in the home but its unclear whether they were working. The cause of the fire is under investigation. An accelerant-sniffing dog was brought in this afternoon to search the burnt remains of the house.
"This really is just a big puzzle," Coan said. "There's a lot of work to be done.
Copyright 2012 - Boston Herald
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
