One Dead, 6 'Miraculously' Escape Fire, No Smoke Detectors

NORTHBOROUGH, MA — A two-alarm fire that broke out at 4:20 a.m. Friday claimed the life of an occupant.

When firefighters arrived at 129 Maple St., flames 20 to 30-feet high were blowing out the second floor front window, Fire Chief David Parenti said.

The second floor apartment is where firefighters found the lone male occupant deceased. That was the room where the fire started, but a cause has not yet been determined. The fire is "not at all suspicious," Parenti said.

There were no working smoke detectors in any of the four occupied units in the apartment building.

The man in the second floor unit, across from the blaze, happened to wake up. He was able to get his partner and their 12 year old child out of the building as well as wake up other residents.

"Normally when people wake up during a fire, they are too incapacitated or disoriented to react," Parenti said. "It is incredibly lucky they woke up and were able to react, or there would have been a lot more than one victim" emphasizing why working smoke detectors are crucial.

The other tenants included an older gentleman living in a first floor unit and two people, whose children happened to be sleeping away for the night, in the other first floor unit, according to Parenti.

The six tenants are being assisted by the American Red Cross, he said.

The family on the second floor had been unable to locate their cat until "one of our younger firefighters spotted it on a bunk bed.

"He's a tough kitty," Parenti said.

A Southborough firefighter was hospitalized for heat exhaustion. Parenti said he was told he's doing fine and should be released from the hospital Friday afternoon.

Roads to the area are reopened, but Northborough firefighters are still on scene knocking out hot spots, according to Parenti.

Many area departments responded to the blaze, including Westborough, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Marlborough, Hudson, Patriot Ambulance and Worcester EMS.

The Worcester County District Attorney's Office and the state fire marshal with the Mass. Department of Fire Services are investigating the fire.