Resident Escapes Early Morning Dorchester Fire

BOSTON (CBS) – A man woke up to the smell of smoke early Wednesday morning and was able to safely escape as his Dorchester home went up in flames.

The fire started around 2:30 a.m. on Ashmont Street. A man who lives inside ran downstairs to get out and began alerting neighbors to the fire.

No one else was home at the time. Flames caused about $400,000 in damage.

Homeowner Joe Cullen told WBZ-TV the fire appeared to start from the kitchen, possibly the stove.

"There's so many irreplaceable pictures and things in the house. I don't even want to think about it right now," Cullen said. "My wife isn't even here. I'm not looking forward to telling her about it."

Because of hot conditions, extra crews were called in to relieve other firefighters.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital but is expected to be OK.

"Unfortunately, a hot like tonight, we had to strike extra alarms just to get the guys here some relief because it's a really tough night to fight a fire," Deputy Chief Jay Fleming said.