Four people, including two children, were pulled from a porch roof as fire ripped through their Manchester home Wednesday morning.
Officials said that flames broke out at the Calef Road house at about 5 a.m. It didn't take long for firefighters to put the fire out, but they said there was a delay getting to the scene because the first calls to 911 reported the wrong address.
Firefighters said they were able to follow the smoke to the house and rescue the people still inside.
When firefighters arrived, they Nicole Bastarache and her boyfriend, Matt Fichang, sitting on the front porch roof, along with Bastarache's 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. Firefighters used ladders to get them down.
"They were in shock," Capt. Jim Roy said. "The children were crying. All of them were covered in heavy black soot."
The children's grandmother said that Bastarache and Fichang pulled the children from the fire. A total of six people were inside the home at the time, and all were taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Fire officials said that the fire was started by a 9-year-old child who was playing with a cigarette lighter. Firefighters said that children often hide if they accidentally start a fire, but this boy didn't do that.
"In this instance here, he woke up his parents," Deputy Chief Dave Albin said. "They have a boarder living downstairs, and they woke that boarder up, too."
Fire officials said that it is unlikely there will be any charges filed in this case.
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