SWAMPSCOTT — Philip Kenneally was well-known in his neighborhood as someone always willing to lend a hand. He made all the newcomers to a tight-knit community near his Plymouth Avenue home feel welcome immediately.
That is why about two dozen of those neighbors, many with tears in their eyes, gathered around his home after learning the 61-year-old carpenter died in a two-alarm fire there yesterday afternoon.
"He was a very friendly man," said Brenda Land, who lived a few homes down from Kenneally. "He made us feel extremely welcome to the neighborhood. There was nothing he wouldn't do for you."
Fire Chief Richard Carmody said the Fire Department received calls about the fire at 1 p.m.
When firefighters arrived, they saw two vehicles in the driveway and feared someone was still inside. As fire burst from the basement and smoke poured out of the home, reports from neighbors confirmed their fears.
Later, firefighters Barbara Walsh, Steve Greenbaum and Carmody found Kenneally in the basement.
"(We) carried the occupant out of the building to the backyard where CPR was started," the chief said.
Swampscott Patrolman Jack Dube and a paramedic from Action Ambulance tried to resuscitate Kenneally.
"The occupant was transported to Salem Hospital, his condition looking doubtful," Carmody said.
The fire caused extensive damage to the two-story wood-frame house with a brick exterior on the front side of the first level. The windows on both floors were broken by firefighters, and a hole was cut in the roof to allow ventilation.
One firefighter, Greenbaum, was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and dehydration. He was later released and is at home.
The fire is under scrutiny by Swampscott fire investigators, Swampscott detectives and the State Fire Marshal's Office. The chief said foul play is not suspected.
Family members declined to comment and asked reporters to leave the fire scene, but nearby residents were more than willing to talk about their well-loved neighbor.
Heather Long, Kenneally's next-door neighbor, said he was always there for her, especially during snowstorms, when he plowed her driveway.
When Land and her family moved to their home on Plymouth Avenue last year, Kenneally was the first person to knock on her door.
"He said, 'Welcome to the neighborhood,' and he made sure we met all our neighbors," Land said.
While Kenneally was talking to other neighbors on the street, he'd motion to her to come over so he could introduce her.
Kenneally lived alone since his mother, Theresa Kenneally, died in 2002.
Rick Massey, another neighbor who worked with Kenneally at job sites across the region, described him as a "skilled craftsman." Massey is a plumbing, heating and mechanical contractor.
"He was a very cautious, very deliberate worker," Massey said. "He would do a job slowly and do it right."
