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According to Deputy Chief Jack Grant, when Lt. Pat Connelly and firefighter Brian Carlson arrived at 29 Wyndmere Road, they were expecting to offer medical assistance, not to put out a fire.
“They assumed it was a medical call,” he said.
Instead, they found Macomber, 78, a semi-retired lawyer, clinging to the stairs in the front hall of his two-story home.
According to Connelly’s report, Macomber had activated a medical alert device around 5:30 p.m. requesting help.
Engine 2 arrived from the East Milton station less than five minutes later.
“There was smoke showing and then they realized there was someone still inside,” said Grant.
The fire was contained to the kitchen, although other parts of the house suffered smoke and heat damage, Grant said. The house has since been boarded up.
Greg Dunphy, a family member who lives on nearby Brae Burn Road, said his son was walking his dog when he ran back to alert him the home was burning.
“The two of us got in the car and hightailed it over there,” said Dunphy. “When we got there he was already in the ambulance.”
Macomber was first transported to Boston City Hospital and then to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he received skin grafts on his head, hands and arms, Dunphy said.
An official at Mass General said Tuesday that Macomber is in “serious” condition and would not elaborate. Dunphy, however, said, “He had really bad burns on his fingers. He also burned his windpipes. The doctors said he’ll pull through.”
He said the home, which Macomber had still used as an office, was “totally gutted.”
“The firefighters had to take out every window, from the attic to the basement,” Dunphy said. Other than some court documents, nothing can be salvaged, he added.
According to Grant, three firefighters were on call at the East Milton station when the alert was activated. Firefighter Danio Thomas also responded, helping to put out the fire.
Grant said Milton firefighters work 24-hour shifts. He said the three stations in town were “fully staffed” – with 11 firemen on call – at the time the fire occurred. The three firefighters at East Milton were on duty from 7:30 a.m. on April 2 to 7:30 a.m. on April 3.
Grant said the men executed a “perfect response” to the fire.
“It appears to have gone well,” he said. “They went in there assuming one thing, and did a great job responding to something else.”