~Photo by Jackie Rossetti $400k in damage estimated at Glenwood Road blaze, two trapped on third floor By George P. Hassett Somerville firefighters saved two people trapped on the third floor of a blazing Glenwood Road home Sunday night but the dramatic rescue could have been avoided if the building's landlord had put batteries in the smoke detectors, said Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher. Firefighters arrived at 111 Glenwood Road Sunday around 6:30 p.m. and found the "entire front porch fully engulfed in flames," Kelleher said. An electrical wire then caught fire and fell, bouncing up and down in the middle of the street with a flame on the end of it, he said.

The warm, humid weather made the fire more difficult to fight, Kelleher said.

Firefighters helped a man and woman who live at the house escape the flames which quickly went up the stairwell and trapped the two on the third floor.

Tenants Elizabeth Barnes and Matthew Chang climbed out of third floor windows on ladders. Barnes was not alerted to the fire until she saw smoke creeping under her door and the stairs in flames.

"Another minute for this girl and it could have gone in a different direction," Kelleher said.

Barnes and Chang were treated at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for smoke inhalation and released. Neither heard smoke detectors ring because the detectors had no batteries, Kelleher said.

"This fire absolutely could have been avoided and these people would not have been in as much danger if the smoke alarms had been in order," he said. "Smoke detectors would have made a big difference."

Two firefighters were also treated and released at area hospitals.

Kelleher said $300,000 in damages were suffered to the building's structure and $100,000 to items inside the home.

The fire is believed to have started when a cigarette was thrown onto a couch on the porch, Kelleher said.

Jing Pan is reportedly the owner of the home.