Mass. Firefighter Rescues Sleeping Woman From Blaze

Bobby Almeida was sleeping yesterday afternoon in her basement apartment at 114 Blackstone River Road when she said she was awakened by a man on top of her.

"He grabbed me and told me we were leaving," Ms. Almeida said.

She said only when she got into the hallway did she notice the smoke, and then she saw fire over her head. The man who had ripped her from her sleep, Fire Lt. Donald Courtney, had been in the area on assignment, investigating candidates for the new firefighter recruit class, when he heard calls that the two-story brick and stucco house was on fire.

Ms. Almeida and Lt. Courtney had a quick laugh, as she snapped a photo of him on her cellphone. Behind them, firefighters overhauled the Blackstone River Road home that sustained heavy damage in a two-alarm blaze that had its tense moments when, soon after firefighters started hitting the building with water, most of the roof collapsed.

"We can laugh about it now," the lieutenant said.

The lieutenant said that when he pulled up just before 2:30 p.m., firefighters from Engine 15 at the McKeon Road station had already arrived and were running hoses and setting up a perimeter around the building.

A woman who identified herself only as Jennifer, who works across the street at Energy Monster in the mostly industrial area between Greenwood Street and Route 146, said when she and her co-workers called 911, heavy smoke and fire were pouring out of the right side of the building, with the wind whipping smoke toward the highway.

Lt. Courtney said he helped the first engine company survey the house for residents who might still be inside.

There were some manpower and equipment issues, since some firefighters who would have been sent to Blackstone River Road were instead helping fight a two-alarm fire in a Chinese food restaurant at the corner of Maywood Street and Park Avenue that also damaged the Blarney Stone bar.

The lieutenant said someone told firefighters they thought there was still someone in the basement of the Blackstone River Road home. So he and firefighters from Engine 15 made their way through heavy smoke to get to the basement. He said he opened the door and yelled, and then kicked down the bedroom door. He found Ms. Almeida sound asleep.

When Ms. Almeida said she was awakened with a man on top of her, she wasn't kidding. Lt. Courtney said he tripped over the bed after he gained entry into the bedroom. He said Ms. Almeida wanted to grab belongings, but he knew they had to get out quickly.

"I told her, `I'll give you to the count of two to get what you need,'" he said.

Ms. Almeida, who said she lived in the basement apartment with her husband, said she managed to grab her cellphone and he helped her out of the building.

"He was very nice, he was sweet," she said.

Deputy Fire Chief Geoffrey Gardell said there were no injuries. He said firefighters were able to safely evacuate after the roof caved in. Pieces of flaming wood came crashing down the side of the building as firefighters drenched the building on a frigid afternoon. The deputy chief said the Fire Investigation Unit came to the scene to investigate. After about an hour, the flames appeared to be under control, and firefighters started overhauling the structure.

The American Red Cross said it provided housing, food and clothing to nine adults displaced by the Blackstone River Road fire.

Around the same time as the Blackstone River Road fire, a two-alarm fire broke out at the Park Chinese restaurant at the corner of Park Avenue and Maywood Street. Deputy Chief Gardell said that fire appeared to have started in the attic of the restaurant. There were no injuries, although the restaurant sustained heavy fire damage. Firefighters also had to cut a hole in the roof of the Blarney Stone bar next door, which also sustained some fire damage, the deputy chief said. The Fire Investigation Unit was also called to that fire, he said.

According to city assessor's records, 114 Blackstone River Road is owned by Telirio F. Neto of Millbury Street.