John M. Guilfoil
The Boston Globe

SWAMPSCOTT, Mass. — A firefighter made a dramatic rescue of a woman who suffered serious injuries when a 2-alarm blaze ripped through her house last night.

Firefighter Robert Randall took a hose inside but broke off to find the woman, who was on her kitchen floor, and get her to safety.

"He did an excellent job," Fire Chief Richard Carmody said, noting the difficulty in fighting the fire. "As bad as conditions are, we're the last line for people."

Carmody also singled out the rest of his department and other responding towns. "The rescue would not have been possible without the assistance of the entire crew," he said.

The woman was taken to Salem Hospital with life-threatening injuries from smoke inhalation. She was later transported to a hospital in Boston for hyperbaric treatment. Her husband, who was able to escape, was also taken to a hospital. Authorities declined to name the victims.

Firefighters from Lynn, Peabody, Nahant, and Salem helped battle the blaze on Forest Road.

"There was heavy fire on arrival," Carmody said. The fire was reported at about 10 p.m.

Carmody said the construction of the house, with metal wire reinforcing plaster walls, acted like an oven, trapping heat and making work difficult for firefighters.

He lives about a block from the scene and said he had smelled the smoke: "I said to myself, `This doesn't smell like a hibachi."'

The Boston Globe