Flaming piles of junk in a Lynn house forced a selfless cop then firefighters to risk their lives a half dozen times to rescue a man from the burning mess.

“If that hallway had been cleared he would have been able to walk out of that place,” said Officer Tom Hazard, 36, the first emergency responder to arrive at 18 Clinton St. at about 9:27 last night.

“It was extremely frustrating knowing I was so close at one point. I had my hand on the guy but your instinct to help is overridden by your probably more natural instinct to stay alive,” Hazard said. “As much as I would have liked to have pulled and tugged on that guy, I couldn’t budge him. You have to flee or then they are going to being trying to rescue two people.”

The man Hazard was trying to reach, Glaston Edwards, is in serious condition at Massachusetts General Hospital, a spokeswoman said. Firefighters said he is in his 50s.

Hazard said the home was fully engulfed in flames when he arrived.

“You could see that the fire was mainly in the back of the house. There were people that had just come from the house and there were several people screaming that there were people inside,” Hazard said today.

Hazard went to the front door where he immediately came upon a person who was trying to rescue another man trapped on the first floor. After Hazard pulled him out of the house, the man told the officer someone else was inside.

“I couldn’t see anything. I began shouting, ‘Are you in here? Are you in here?’ I heard a reply: ‘I’m right here. I’m right here.’ ”

In the doorway, Hazard said debris was stacked from floor to ceiling, leaving a narrow passage of about two feet between the wall on the right and the mountain of clutter on the left.

“I made my way three or four feet across the debris. I could hear him. I couldn’t see him, but I ran out of breath and I had to go outside to get a few more breaths,” Hazard said.

On another attempt, Hazard was able to grab onto one of the man’s appendages with one hand as he crouched toward him sideways through the debris.

“I got my hand on an arm or a leg; an appendage. I’m not sure what,” Hazard said. “I’m asking him, ‘Is this you?’ Because honestly I couldn’t see a thing. It’s one handed. I’m sideways and I’m edged in between the stuff. After a few tries I had to go out and get some more air.”

Officers John Marr and David Galezzi then arrived and made another attempt to reach Edwards, who was still crying out for help.

After being overcome repeatedly by the thick, toxic smoke, the officers started to dismantle the debris piles blocking their passage.

Hazard said among the items he tossed were a 20-pound bag of rock salt, cardboard boxes and a lawn ornament.

“You are just grabbing things and throwing them out the door. ... We went back and forth inside taking turns. We threw out as much stuff as we could. We’re still calling to the guy and now he’s not answering anymore,” Hazard said.