‘Seconds counted’: Firefighters describe saving children from Providence fire
Second floor of Ophelia Street apartment during fire (WPRI-TV)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Two toddlers are recovering at the hospital after being rescued from a burning home in Providence on Monday night.
Their mother, Haley, told 12 News she was doing laundry in another part of her Ophelia Street apartment when it all unfolded.
“Somebody barged in and said, ‘Your apartment’s on fire! Your apartment’s on fire!’ I ran,” Haley said.
BACKGROUND: 2 kids rescued from burning Providence home
But the flames were too strong, and she couldn’t get back inside. Haley said her 7-month-old Husky, Rocky, stayed by her 2- and 3-year-old children the whole time.
“He would not leave my kids,” she said.
As Providence firefighters responded to the scene, Captain Brad Casavant said they received word that people were trapped on the second floor. Several firefighters immediately made their way up to find them.
Firefighter Matthew Charello described having to “travel to the noise” amid the thick smoke to reach the victims.
“When we came off the stairs, it was zero visibility. We couldn’t see anything,” Charello recalled. “You could hear the engine operating off to the right and then you could hear the commotion at the window through, off in the distance.”
Following the sounds, they located one of the adult male victims, who was certain there was a baby or young child inside. Charello said this motivated them to keep looking, and sure enough, the child was found on the floor shortly afterward.
The first child was quickly handed out of a window to Lieutenant Christopher Stoney, who took them to safety.
“Sometimes good leaders just let their members do what they’re going to do. You can’t overthink anything,” Stoney explained. “We had talked and came up with a game plan as far as how we were going to divide and how we were going to search.”
At the same time, the commanding chief on scene pointed out a victim hanging from a second-floor window, according to Firefighter CJ Lannan. He remembered looking around and seeing a few people nearby before he and others grabbed a ladder.
“When we had gotten to the top of the ladder, there was two adult males at the window. No signs of children at all,” Lannan said. “I was trying to coach them down the ladder with me, but they refused to leave.”
Moments later, one of the men lost his footing and fell from the ledge. Firefighter John Dorcena managed to break his fall, twisting him midair to prevent a head-first landing.
“The split-second reaction—that’s literally the choice between life and death, sometimes,” Dorcena said. “I just had a job to do.”
Soon after, another firefighter located a second child inside and handed them down the ladder to Dorcena, who brought the child down.
Lannan said he returned up the ladder for the third time to find Charello rescuing the family’s dog.
“The dog was in the corner of the room, sitting very still, almost like we thought it was a stuffed animal at first. Very calm,” Charello said. “When we removed the dog, it didn’t really have much of a reaction. I think it was just happy to be out.”
“I’m so grateful that at least he survived and my kids had somebody with them,” Haley said.
Unfortunately, the family lost their other dog and a cat to the fire.
Haley said her children are recovering at the hospital and doing “a lot better” after receiving smoke-inhalation treatments.
Casavant noted that those inside the window were in “extreme danger,” with heavy smoke pushing out, the roof on fire above them, and soffits on fire to their right.
“Seconds counted. If it had been any longer, the outcome certainly would have been different,” Casavant said.
Additionally, he said the bedroom door was closed, which tremendously helped in keeping the victims separate from the fire and its byproducts, “adding minutes to their survival.”
“We want to save lives at any point we can … it was a big team effort,” Lannan added. “It was really just a right place, right time. Anybody on that scene would have done what we did, so I was glad that we had a few different crews with us for the assistance.”
The fire started in the kitchen on the second floor of the home around 8:30 p.m. The exact cause remains under investigation.
Aftermath of Ophelia Street house fire in Providence (WPRI-TV)
