Child Credited With Helping Painter Escape Fire In Hingham Mansion

HINGHAM, MA — Officials are crediting a child who was at home with his nanny for helping to save the life of a worker who was still stuck in a Hingham mansion as it went up in flames Monday.

Crews responded to a report of a fire at a multi-million dollar home at 4 Mann Street just before 1 p.m. Hingham Fire Chief Steve Murphy later said a little boy was on the porch with his nanny when the fire first broke out and both were able to run away as it started.

Murphy says the little boy then ran back into the house to alert a painter, who was working on one of the rooms upstairs.

Once the painter made it to the first floor, the entire $3.2 million mansion was completely engulfed in the flames. All three were able to make it safely out of the house.

Video posted to Twitter shows a huge fire with large flames and smoke that could be seen for miles. As the home burned, the fire continued to spread, reaching several other homes and damaging a few in the area.

"When we got on scene, there was extensive amount of wind and we knew there was going to be water issues," Murphy said, commenting on the fire's size.

Smoke from the fire stretched so far it could be seen from Revere Beach, Mark Garfinkel posted on Twitter.

Murphy called the fire one of the largest the department has seen in five years.

"We rely heavily on mutual aid as do many other communities around here, especially when we have a significant fire like this and we want to prevent it from spreading to other locations," Murphy said.

Multiple agencies have come in to help try to put out the fire, including firefighters from Braintree, Plymouth, Scituate, Rockland, Weymouth, and Hull. With their help, Hingham Fire Department was able to expand their 11-person on-duty team to about 120.

The Connecticut Fire Photographers' Association sent over a member to document the fire and help firefighters on the ground, noting that firefighters were still working in the exposure dwellings.

Around 2:20 p.m., NBC10 reported the home had completely collapsed, leaving only the chimney.

According to Zillow, the home was recently sold on June 10, for $3.2 million.

Though the cause of the fire is under investigation, Murphy said the boy told him he believed the fire started on the porch.