Cab driver deemed hero
Published: January 3, 2006
Early New Year’s morning, cab driver Jonathan Desrochers was on one of his last runs for Albany’s Safe Ride program. He was driving up Western Avenue when he saw smoke and asked his passengers if he could turn around.
Desrochers said, “There was smoke coming from the roof, so I called 911 and I knocked on the door. I got no response, rang the doorbells, but didn’t hear anything.”
Desrochers said he wouldn’t give up, so he pounded on the door until 39-year-old Virginia Tompkins came out. He led her to safety, but there was still someone on the second floor.
“I just hoped that if there was someone upstairs we found out because the flames were coming down the staircase and it was going pretty well by then, and I didn’t know how we’d get somebody out if there was somebody upstairs,” said Desrochers.
But he and one of the passengers found a way. They ran around to the back of the house and coaxed the man living upstairs to jump from the window to the ground. Desrochers said he’s not a hero, he’s just doing what he thought should be done.
He said, “Instinct, somebody was in trouble. I’d want somebody to stop at this house if it was on fire and somebody might be inside.”
Battalion Chief Mike Burns of the Albany Fire Department said, “Because of the cab driver’s actions, we saved most of the houses and both tenants were okay. He made a world of difference in a lot of people’s lives.”
Investigators said the fire is not suspicious at this time. If fact, they said it could’ve started because of electrical problems. Meanwhile the American Red Cross has relocated the two residents.
• See also: Fire victim thanks her hero
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