Providence, RI, Firefighters Recall Rescuing Toddlers from House Fire
A closed bedroom door, an agressive interior search and a mid-air twisting grab were among factors that led to a successful outcome at a Providence house fire Monday night.
Firefighters immediately went into search mode as heavy smoke billowed from windows. They found the two toddlers and their Husky in a second-floor bedroom.
The bedroom door was closed, which tremendously helped in keeping the victims separate from the fire and its byproducts, “adding minutes to their survival,” Captain Brad Casavant told WPRI.
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.”
Lannan added: “When we had gotten to the top of the ladder, there was (sic) two adult males at the window. No signs of children at all. 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. I just had a job to do," he said.
Soon after, another firefighter located a second child inside and handed them down the ladder to Dorcena.
Both unresponsive children were transported to a hospital and are recovering.
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. When we removed the dog, it didn’t really have much of a reaction. I think it was just happy to be out.”
The toddlers' mother said the dog is very devoted to the family and is not surprised he stayed with them.
“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.”
