FAIRHAVEN, Mass. (WPRI) — Two people were injured after a fire ripped through a 54-year-old Fairhaven business Monday morning.
The fire broke out at Jackson’s Variety on the corner of Manhattan Avenue and Sconticut Neck Road, according to Fire Chief Timothy Francis.
Heavy smoke and flames were seen billowing out of the second-floor windows.
Kristina Jackson, the owner of the store, was opening for the day when she noticed the fire on her baby monitor, according to her sister, Colleen Jackson.
That’s when she made an attempt to alert her father and daughter, who were on the second floor in his residence.
Francis said bystanders and an off-duty firefighter rushed in to pull Jackson’s father and daughter out of the building before firefighters arrived.
“I never expected anything like this to happen,” Colleen said. “We are at a complete loss.”
Colleen said her father and niece are currently being treated at St. Luke’s Hospital for burns and smoke inhalation.
She said she’s extremely grateful for the bystanders and firefighter who helped save her family.
“Without those good Samaritans ─ my sister wasn’t leaving my father ─ they wouldn’t have gotten out of there,” Colleen said.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but Francis said it appeared to have started in a sunroom on the second floor.
A GoFundMe page has been created for the family and has already raised more than $1,300.
