A Wareham teenager has been charged with operating under the influence of alcohol after the pick-up he was driving collided with an Oak Street home and caused it to go up in flames shortly after 9:30 p.m. Friday. A male and female passenger in the vehicle were injured and the female was taken to a Boston hospital via medical helicopter.

In addition to charges of operating under the influence of liquor and causing serious injury, 17-year-old Richard Fiorentino of Stephens Avenue is charged with operating to endanger, a marked Lanes violation, and speeding, according to Wareham Police. He will be summonsed to Wareham 4th District Court at a later date.

Wareham Police officers Daniel Henderson and Nathaniel Aronson were the first responders at the scene. Upon arrival, the house was fully engulfed in flames and the pick-up was on fire, according to Wareham Police. The two passengers were out of the vehicle. Fiorentino was trapped trapped inside the vehicle.

Henderson and Aronson attempted to extinguish the vehicle's flames using fire extinguishers from their cruisers and extricate the driver, but were driven back by the heat of the fire as firefighters arrived, according to Wareham Police.

The identities of the injured parties and the extent of their injuries could not immediately be known. The young couple who live in the house were home at the time, but escaped without injuries, according to emergency responders at the scene.

Fiorentino was traveling on Oak Street toward Minot Avenue at a high rate of speed when he lost control of the pick-up and crashed into the home's bulkhead and into the basement, according to Wareham Police and emergency responders at the scene. The home was moved approximately seven feet off the foundation.

"As soon as I pulled in ... I smelled nothing but raw gas,"  said Wareham Fire Chief Robert McDuffy.

Live wires were on the ground and the fire was blazing. The gas meter had been ripped off the house.

"Raw gas ... was actually fueling the fire," McDuffy said. "It was like a blow torch."

Firefighters crawled down the front of truck and into the home's basement in order to free Fiorentino from the pick-up. One firefighter took off his oxygen mask and put it on Fiorentino's face, McDuffy said.

"It was what we call 'free burn.' [The fire] was burning so hot and furious that it was just straight flames" and no smoke, McDuffy added. "[Firefighters told Fiorentino] if something happens to him, they're all going with him."

Firefighters were able to pull Fiornetino through the back window of the truck. He was treated at Tobey Hospital.

McDuffy said he was very proud of his staff.

"Quite frankly, they were fearless. They forgot about the importance of their lives and families to make this rescue happen. Without them, we may have had different circumstances," said McDuffy. He thanked Wareham EMS and the police who responded, especially officers Henderson and Aronson.

"[Henderson and Aronson] stepped up in the bravest fashion that they could have," McDuffy said. "They did everything they could without the proper equipment."

Neighbors in nearby homes heard the impact.

"We heard a boom," said Arlene Generazzo, a neighbor on Oak Hill Road, which runs behind Oak Street. "It sounded like a bomb went off."

Generazzo said she looked out the window to see if a car had crashed on Narrows Road because that area is prone to accidents, but saw nothing. Minutes later, flames were shooting out of her neighbor's home, she said, adding that the home has been hit at least once or twice in the past. She said the couple had recently begun renting the home.

Neighbors say speeding has long been a concern for residents because the road is full of curves.

"This is the second time that has happened," said neighbor Joe Miller. "From what I understand the car was going 70 to 80 miles an hour, which is far too speedy for even a straight road."

Firefighters were unable to find the couple's dog, McDuffy said. It is unclear whether it was killed in the fire.

The house, a single-story two-bedroom ranch, was declared a total loss. Wareham Fire Department officials estimated the damage at roughly $200,000.

Wareham firefighters were assisted by the Onset and Rochester fire departments.