Dramatic rescue in Saugus

SAUGUS – A four-alarm blaze Thursday resulted in a dramatic rescue of a disabled woman and her husband and sent four firefighters to the hospital.Fire Capt. Thomas Nolan was hospitalized suffering from smoke inhalation after he rushed into the burning three-family home at 483 Central St. to rescue a double amp-utee and her husband. Nolan was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where Fire Chief James Blanchard said he believes he is in serious condition.Nolan, who heads the Fire Prevention Unit, was the first to arrive on the scene when the call went out around 12:30 p.m. for a fire. Dressed in a shirt and tie with no turn-out gear, Nolan made a snap decision and raced into the burning building, Blanchard said. After making his way to the second floor where the husband and wife were said to be trapped, Blanchard said Nolan crawled through heavy black smoke, found the pair, pulled them to a window then called for a ladder truck.Blanchard said Capt. Don Shea was on the scene by the time Nolan reached the window and immediately raised the ladder. Also on the scene was firefighter William Cross, who was off-duty but working a landscape job nearby when the fire broke out.Blanchard said while Nolan struggled to get the woman over the sill inside, Cross raced up the ladder and helped from the outside.”Capt. Shea then took her down the ladder,” he said.Both husband and wife were transported to Melrose Wakefield Hospital where Blanchard said he heard from paramedics they were doing fine.Blanchard said there was no question the woman would have died had Nolan not rushed in to rescue her.Off-duty firefighters Kevin McDermott and Mark Gannon, who were also working nearby, also joined the fight as thick black smoke filled the air and debris periodically rained down.Firefighter Stephen Rea and two other Saugus firefighters were also taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and injuries.By 1:20 p.m. as flames poured out a rear third-floor window, fire engines surrounding the scene began sounding the evacuation alarm and firefighters were ordered to abandon the building.But firefighters could still be seen through a second-floor window, which prompted the crowd of nearly 100 onlookers to begin yelling for the firefighters to get themselves out.Despite aid from Lynn, Revere, Malden, Everett and Wakefield, the home was a total loss. Blanchard said late Thursday it was too early to determine the cause of the blaze.Beverly Barreiro was on her way to pick up her granddaughter when she heard the fire alarms sound.”I live up the road on Summit and you could see the smoke from there,” she said. “I get nervous. The first thing you want is to hear that they got everyone out. You can replace things but you can’t replace people.”Her grandson Justin DeDominicus seemed mesmerized by the fire, but admitted it was a little scary.”It’s the first real fire I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I’ve seen them on television but never like this.”Sean Grant, who lives next door to the fire, nervously watched the scene unfold. He said he said he was at work when a friend called to tell him his neighbor’s home was on fire and the wind was blowing in his direction.Grant said later there was no physical damage to his home.Blanchard had nothing but praise for Shea, who controlled the massive scene, especially since he said conditions could not have been worse for a fire.”The burn index is so high,” he said. “It’s the worst possible conditions for a fire, especially with the wind.”