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Police officer catches woman who jumped from apartment fire

MERRIMAC, Mass. — A fire displaced at least five residents of an apartment building Friday morning, according to the Merrimac Fire Chief.

Firefighters were called to the scene shortly before 9 a.m. Friday morning to find a woman trapped inside the second floor unit.

“We heard a woman yelling help me, help me,” Marilyn Judson said. “it was horrifying. It was horrifying because I didn’t know where it was coming from. None of us did until she whipped open her window.”

Eventually, others who had evacuated convinced her to jump.

“She said ‘I can’t do it, I can’t do it.’ And we said ‘if you don’t jump you’re going to die.’ Everyone was yelling and if it wasn’t for everyone i don’t think she would’ve done it,” Judson said.

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The four-unit building is considered a total loss, according to Fire Chief Ralph Spencer.

Five people have been displaced by the blaze and Chief Spencer estimates the damage to the building at about $1 million.

The woman who jumped was taken to the hospital for a sprained ankle.

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