The Boston Fire Department reports Pat Foley was a block away from the Engine 21 firehouse in Dorchester this morning when he noticed a fire in an apartment building 40 Sumner St. around 7 a.m. Foley called in the fire, then raced into the building and began knocking on doors to rouse residents and get them out.

Firefighters who responded to the blaze had to use "forceable entry tools" to enter one apartment, where they found an unconscious woman. She was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in serious condition.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze in about 20 minutes, the department reports. The department estimates the fire - under investigation by both BFD inspectors and Boston Police - caused roughly $50,000 in damage.