Two people are dead after a fire tore through a home in Saugus, Massachusetts, on Saturday morning.
Saugus firefighters responded to the home on Richard Street shortly before 6 a.m. with reports of two people elderly trapped inside. Crews from surrounding communities including Melrose and Everett also responded to help knock down the blaze.
Fire officials say one of the victims was found dead in the stairway between the first and second floor after the flames were put out. The other victim was pulled from the home and taken to a nearby hospital where they died from their injuries.
Neighbors tell NBC10 Boston they heard a loud explosion just moments before looking outside and seeing the home fully engulfed in flames.
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"Like a match box just went straight up. Dry, dry fire. Very fast, fast moving fire," said neighbor Michael O'Connell. “I had the AC on but heard the fire engines and opened up my window and saw that the house was completely on fire.”
The man and woman who died in the fire are not being identified at this time.
Neighbors say one of them used an oxygen tank and they're wondering if that played a role in the blaze.
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"Everyone's kind of just sitting back, waiting to hear anything," O'Connell said.
Investigators are working to determine what started the fire. The origin and cause remain under investigation.
