LUNENBURG, Mass. -- A fire at the Pearl Brook Apartments claimed one life Saturday.

Photos

A 53-year-old man who firefighters said may have been smoking while on oxygen treatment was killed. Firefighters battled intense flames that billowed out from the second floor of the eight-unit building, which they said was not equipped with automatic sprinklers.

“If the units had been provided with automatic sprinklers, it is highly likely that the fire would have been contained to a piece of furniture and the victim would have had a significant chance of survival,” said Lunenburg Deputy Fire Chief David P. Demers.

The man had managed to make it out of his second-floor apartment when he collapsed on an exterior porch and died, Demers said.

The three-alarm fire at 131 White St. broke out just before 5:30 p.m.

The name of the man who suffered from "severe pulmonary disorders” was not immediately released.