Two department of public works employees in Everett, Massachusetts are being called heroes after pulling a risky rescue and rushing into a burning building after they saw smoke Wednesday.
The two men then alerted a firefighter to a young girl trapped inside the triple decker home, not before rushing in to save her.
“I told him stop the truck. He stopped the truck and we both ran out, ran into the building, kicked in the doors and dragged everyone out,” said Jesse Winocour, Everett DPW employee.
What they couldn’t do was get to the third floor where they learned the toddler girl was trapped.
“We couldn’t make it all the way in. Too much smoke, too much fire. We tried,” said Winocour.
“Tried to go up further to the point that I couldn’t breathe. My eyes were burning,” added Jason Papa, Winocour colleague.
As they were making their way out, a firefighter was on his way up to the third floor. At one point, calling a mayday with conditions so hazardous, but finally emerging with the unconscious girl and in distress himself.
“She was unconscious, so she was apparently wasn’t breathing. I was so scared to see her. He couldn’t do anything else. He just dropped his body to the floor,” said Connie Garcia, a neighbor.
“I seen the little girl come out like that, in his arms, just hanging there. I got six kids of my own,” said Papa.
It was an emotional scene for the two men in the right place at the right time, who are being called heroes for helping residents. More than a dozen residents are now displaced.
“Thank Christ he did because otherwise it would be a tragedy,” said Sue Decarney, one of the displaced.
This was more than a day’s work, but they won’t take any credit.
“He went up there and saved her. He’s the hero. The fireman saved the little girl, he’s the hero,” said Winocour.
First responders were able to revive the young girl and she was transported to the hospital. The firefighter was also treated for minor injuries.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
