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Two people rescued from fire in New Bedford

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) – Two people were rescued from a house fire in New Bedford Saturday after a 9-year-old reported the blaze.

Police and firefighters responded to a fire on Dartmouth Street Saturday morning, officials say. A 9-year-old boy called 911 to report the fire, and said that his mother and brother were trapped inside.

"A child, a 9-year-old boy, called the fire in and was giving us the information and that there were people trapped in a bedroom and that they couldn't get to them," New Bedford Fire Chief Michael Gomes said.

The fire was on the second floor of the home when firefighters arrived. Police officers had removed a woman from the top of the stairs, but were told that two others were trapped within the home. The woman was the 9-year-old's mother.

Firefighters could see a victim's feet on the second floor, and pushed past the fire without a hose line to grab the male victim, who was the 9-year-old's brother, and pulled him from the building. He suffered second and third degree burns to half of his body. They did not find anyone else inside and proceeded to extinguish the fire.

Three people were transported to the hospital, two of them are in serious condition, Gomes said. There were smoke detectors in the building, but firefighters are still investigating to see if they were functioning at the time of the fire.

Neighbors applaud the young boy for saving his family.

"I think that's tremendous. He saved his father and I guess hopefully, that his mother makes it out alright and the brother," a neighbor said.