Portland police officers, paramedics and firefighters rescued a man suffering a mental health crisis from a burning shed on Friday night, police said Monday.

First responders were called to 52 Parris St. after 7 p.m. Friday for a report of a man armed with a knife who was suffering a mental health crisis. The man was making threats against his own life and made delusional statements.

Police said a crisis negotiator was among the first officers to arrive, and began trying to deescalate the situation. But the man then barricaded himself inside a shed and began pouring gasoline around the door and inside the structure.

After nearly two and a half hours of negotiations, the man told police he would come out of the shed. But within seconds, it burst into flames with the man trapped inside. Firefighters doused the shed with water, and police broke out windows to allow the water to extinguish the fire inside.

The man climbed through one of the broken windows. Officers took him to Maine Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries suffered in the fire, and for his mental health crisis.

“The professionalism, restraint, compassion and coordinated response displayed by the officers and firefighters who responded to this incident resulted in a life being saved and nobody being seriously injured,” said Chief Frank Clark, in a statement released Monday.


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