LYNN — A 20-year-old man was treated for smoke inhalation and he and his parents were homeless after a fast-moving two-alarm fire destroyed their Tucker Street home Tuesday morning.
Fire Chief Stephen Archer said smoke alarms installed in 42 Tucker St. last week by the father most likely saved the son’s life. He was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Salem Hospital after hearing alarms on the home’s second floor and fleeing to the street.
“Had the alarms not been replaced by the resident, there might have been a different outcome.”
North Shore Medical Center spokeswoman Laura Fleming said on Tuesday the resident, Jeremy Amaral, was listed in good condition.
“We stress the need to check and replace alarms,” Archer said.
Fire crews converging at 9:33 a.m. on Tucker, a side street off Western Avenue a block from Chestnut Street, found flames engulfing the front of the two-story home.
“Heavy fire was showing and extending up and and inside the house,” Archer said.
Lynn resident Corinne Upton said she was driving down Tucker Street when she saw flames.
“The whole front of the porch was on fire. I heard someone scream and a young kid came out. He looked like he ran through the fire,” Upton said.
Upton said the man was half-dressed and she gave him the pair of khaki pants she was wearing. She remained at the fire scene clad in a pair of gym shorts and a sweatshirt.
Two firefighters were treated for symptoms related to exertion at the scene and Archer said the home is “likely a total loss.” The Red Cross responded to help the younger man and his parents obtain emergency housing and any essential items they needed.
City property records identify 42 Tucker’s owner as John P. Amaral. The Amaral family owned two dogs and three cats and Archer said firefighters confirmed a dog and two cats died in the fire and the other two animals were unaccounted for as of 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Initial police scanner transmissions of the fire indicated “multiple explosions” at 42 Tucker St. Archer said firefighters also heard those reports and said fire investigators will probably determine the origin and cause of the fire by sometime Wednesday.
The fire forced police to detour Western Avenue traffic down to Maple Street and blocked off access to Tucker Street with fire crews from across the city concentrated at the scene.
Randy and Sandy Upton (no relation to Corinne Upton) described themselves as longtime friends of the Amaral family and said they were driving on Western Avenue past Tucker Street when they saw flames and confirmed their worst fears.
They waited in tears at the site Tuesday.
“I’ll do anything for them,” Sandy Upton said.
