Suffolk News-Herald

Firefighters pulled an elderly man to safety Monday after an upstairs apartment in his building caught fire.

Firefighters arriving at the two-story house at 311 Pleasant St. around 11:20 a.m. found heavy smoke and flames coming from the building’s upper floor, said Capt. James T. Judkins, spokesman for the Suffolk Fire Department.

After neighbors reported a person was still inside, firefighters with Ladder Co. 3 found the man trying to get out of his apartment and helped him to safety, said Judkins.

The victim, whose name and age was not released, was not injured, he added.

Bernard Hayes, the building’s owner and occupant of the upstairs apartment where the blaze started, told fire officials that the building is not insured.

Fire investigators are still looking into the fire’s origin, Judkins said.

Damage to the $70,000 building totaled $20,000.

On Sunday, firefighters spent about three hours battling an apartment fire at 223 Clay St.

The fire, started by an overheated pan of grease, gutted the entire top floor of the building, said Judkins. Firefighters, advancing hoses upstairs to fight the blaze, found flames rolling across the ceiling.

Firefighter Joseph Holland, 23, received a minor hand cut during mop-up operations.

Damage to the $180,000 building was $60,000.