Heroes step up in daring rescue
Published: November 13, 2007
Brave bystanders rushed into the flames shooting out of a Mattapan triple-decker yesterday to rescue screaming residents trying to escape a blaze that left 14 people injured, including a toddler in critical condition.
“We thought, ‘We have to help these people,’ ” said passer-by Donald Flynn, 28, of Quincy.
Flynn and two fellow painters said they spotted the flames, then saw a woman plunging from the second story. They immediately pulled over, grabbed two ladders from their van and propped them against the side and rear of the building at 1458 Blue Hill Ave. to help others escape.
“It was adrenaline,” Flynn told the Herald at the scene.
Another passer-by, construction worker Al Pierre, 34, said he jumped from his car and shimmied up a pole that runs to the third-floor balcony, where a terrified woman clutched her baby.
“First I took down the baby,” Pierre said, adding he then helped guide two women down the narrow pole as flames billowed out the windows. Pierre was on his way to Newbury Street with pal Shauntelle Malcolm, 22, who said she was “afraid he wasn’t going to be able to get out.”
Boston’s bravest arrived three minutes after the call came in to find the stairs blocked by flames, said Deputy Fire Chief Robert Dunderdale, so they climbed ladders.
“We were going through every room,” said firefighter Joe Walsh. “You can’t see anything. It’s frustrating. The parents are telling you the children are in there.”
Firefighter Renard Miller described finding a tot, about 2 years old, “lifeless” on a bed.
“I heard a faint cry,” Miller said. “I took my mask off and put it on the baby.” Lt. William Kenneally also helped rescue an injured child.
BPD Sgt. John Conroy and firefighter Brian Dasey were treated and released at area hospitals along with two other firefighters. In addition to the 2-year-old, at least one adult and a 5-year-old girl were seriously injured, said Boston EMS Chief Richard Serino. Six children were taken to hospitals.
Officials determined the fire was sparked by an electrical short-circuit in a first-floor living room and caused an estimated $500,000 in damage.
It was unclear yesterday how many people lived in the building, where a charred pumpkin, peeled walls and melted vinyl siding were all that remained of the house.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino later arrived at the scene and praised firefighters for “an excellent job.”
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