Yahoo Finance Mass. Woman Dies After Running Back into Burning Home in Attempt to Save Dogs
wcvb
A woman in Massachusetts has tragically died after running into a burning building in an attempt to save more than a dozen of dogs that were trapped inside.
The fatal fire broke out around midnight on Tuesday at a residence in Holliston, according to officials.
A woman and a man initially escaped the flames, but the woman ran back into the house, Jennifer Mieth, a spokesperson for the state fire marshal's office, tells PEOPLE.
Holliston Deputy Fire Chief Mark Dellicker said that the woman "went in to get dogs and try to save them" and she was found by the rescue crew on the second floor, NBC Boston reported.
The couple were transported to a local hospital, where the woman succumbed to her injuries.
Mieth tells PEOPLE that none of the animals trapped inside the burning home made it out alive. According to her, around 15 to 20 dogs died in the fire.
Dellicker told reporters that a number of the dogs were caged and rescue workers attempted to resuscitate some of them when they were pulled from the fire, WCVB reported.
Authorities have not released the identities of the couple, though the outlet reported that the woman was in the 70s and the man is in his 80s.
A neighbor told WCVB that the woman was "into adopting dogs" and described the couple as "always willing to help."
According to the Holliston Town Clerk's Office, the occupants of the home had a permit to run a kennel inside the residence, allowing "10 plus" dogs on the property, The Milford Daily Press reported.
The fire is being jointly investigated by the Holliston Fire Department, Holliston Police Department, Middlesex District Attorney's Office and state police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
