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Man Saved From Abington House Fire By Neighbor, Police Officers

ABINGTON (CBS) - Two police officers and a neighbor saved a man from a fire at a home in Abington.

Flames broke out in the house on Plymouth Street around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. By the time firefighters arrived, the officers and neighbor were inside, searching for the unconscious man who was trapped on the second floor.

"It was very smoky, I could barely breathe, it was very warm, and with the fire, you could see the orange flame shooting from a room or a corner closet or something and it was very intense," the neighbor, Kurt Knepshield, told WBZ-TV.

"At first, I thought it was just a kid and I have a young son and a young daughter. I just really wasn't thinking, it was instinct, I guess, just to get him out of danger and hopefully you know, help him."

"He's a big guy, I tried to get him up over the threshold, by that time the police came," Knepshield said of his neighbor, who's identified only as "Mikey." "We worked together as a team to get him down the stairs."

abington house fire
The home on on Plymouth Street after the fire. (WBZ-TV)

Paramedics performed CPR on the 57-year-old man and then rushed him to Massachusetts General Hospital in critical condition.

Investigators said the fire was accidental and they cited "electrical" as the cause.

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