Two firefighters die in Boston fire

BOSTON -- A fire driven by strong winds raced through a brownstone , trapping and killing two firefighters in the basement, where their colleagues couldn't rescue them.

Thirteen other firefighters were injured in the blaze, and several police officers also were taken to hospitals. Some residents had to be rescued from the upper floors of the four-story apartment building, but none was hurt, city officials said.

"Today's a sad day for the city of Boston," Mayor Marty Walsh said. "We lost two heroes here today."

The firefighters were identified as Lt. Edward J. Walsh, 43, a father of three who had almost a decade of experience, and firefighter Michael R. Kennedy, 33, a Marine Corps combat veteran who had been a firefighter for more than six years.

Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Finn said the fire appeared to have started in the basement but moved quickly through the building because of the wind. The cause wasn't known. Firewalls stopped the fire from consuming adjacent buildings.

"In 30 years I've never seen a fire travel that fast, escalate that quickly and create such havoc in such a short period of time," Finn said.

He said Walsh and Kennedy had gone down into the basement, and he assumed that a front window broke out and blew the fire back at them. They called a mayday within two or three minutes of entering the building. -- AP