AKIPRESS.COM - Two firefighters were killed in a 9-alarm Back Bay blaze, the Boston Fire Department officials confirmed during a press conference on Wednesday night, the press service of Boston administration reported.

Lieutenant Edward J. Walsh and Firefighter Michael R. Kennedy were both working to battle the flames in the basement at 298 Beacon St., near the intersection of Beacon and Exeter.

Kennedy, an unmarried 33-year-old who lived in Hyde Park and had over six years of firefighting experience, was recovered alive but with severe injuries, officials said. He was immediately transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Walsh, a 43-year-old from West Roxbury, was married and had three children under the age of 10. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and had over nine years of firefighting experience.

Both firefighters worked out of the Engine 33, Ladder 15 firehouse located at the corner of Boylston and Hereford Streets, less than a mile from the scene of the fire.

Officials were visibly shaken as they discussed the two fallen firefighters.