[UPDATE: 8:17PM] Two firefighters were killed in a fire that ripped through a Bay Back townhouse on Wednesday afternoon.
Lieutenant Edward J. Walsh, Jr., 43, of West Roxbury and Michael R. Kennedy, 33, of Hyde Park, were both of Engine 33 on Boylston St., Boston Fire Department spokesman Stephen MacDonald said.
Walsh and Kennedy were two of the first firefighters to reach the scene of the fire at 298 Beacon St. in Boston. They were in the basement of the building for two to three minutes before they put in a May Day call, according to deputy fire chief Joe Finn. Both men were located in the basement of the building where the fire originated, Finn said.
Walsh, who had been a firefighters for 9.5 years, was pronounced dead at the scene. He leaves three children. Kennedy was recovered from the scene and pronounced at Mass General. He had been a firefighter for 6.5 years.
An additional 13 firefighters suffered injuries ranging from burns to broken bones.
[UPDATE AT 5:46PM] At least 18 patients have been transported to hospitals following a 9-alarm blaze that has broken out in a Back Bay brownstone.
Thick clouds of smoke continue to billow from the four-story brownstone at 298 Beacon Street. Firefighters were called to the scene at 2:43PM. A ninth alarm was struck at 3PM.
Boston EMS reported on Twitter around 5:40PM that 18 patients have been transported to area hospitals. At least three firefighters have been taken to hospitals, according to EMS spokesman Nick Martin. One firefighter is reportedly in critical condition. He did not know the extent of their injuries.
No residents have been reported missing.
The area was roped off as a possible crime scene around 4:30PM.
The Boston Fire Department said the fire started in the basement and extended up through the roof. Firewalls prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings, according to Boston Fire spokesman Stephen MacDonald.
Heavy winds are sending smoke throughout the densely populated neighborhood. An estimated 150 firefighters were called to the scene.
State Police closed Storrow Drive, which is near the scene of the fire. Beacon Street and most of the Back Bay from Mass Ave to Berkeley street are closed to traffic.
Emily Kaiser, a teacher at the Newman Prep school, which is located a block away from the fire, said she could see firemen being transported to the hospital.
The last time a Boston firefighter was killed in the line of duty was 2009, when the ladder truck carrying Lieutenant Kevin Kelley crashed into a high-rise building.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
