Off-Duty Maine Firefighter Rescues Woman From Blaze

SABATTUS, Maine -- Most sixth-graders who are late for school have excuses like doctors appointments or dentist visits.

How many get to offer up that dad happened upon a house fire on the way to school and helped a woman escape the flames as an excuse for being tardy?

That's what Marc Veilleux's daughter, Payton, got to tell the office staff, teachers and her friends at Sugg Middle School in Lisbon. Veilleux -- a firefighter for 20 years -- was off-duty and taking his daughter to school at about 7 a.m. Tuesday when the two happened upon a house fire on Middle Street.

The deputy chief of the Lisbon Fire Department immediately jumped into action. He pulled over and called the dispatch center for Sabattus Fire Department to alert them of the blaze.

"There were cars in the yard, the house was on fire, but I didn't see anybody standing outside," Veilleux said.

He walked around the burning structure to determine whether anyone was inside. As he made his way around the double-wide mobile home, a man came out a side door. He said after a few seconds he was able to gather from the man that his wife and dog were still inside.

Veilleux said he made his way to the front of the house and saw the woman struggling to get out a window. He helped her escape and a group of passers-by who stopped to help were able to get the dog out of the house.

"I consider being a hero going out and jumping on a land mine and grenades," Veilleux said. "I assisted somebody getting out a window. That's just being in the right place at the right time."

Channel 8 News reported fire officials from Sabattus said the woman was taken to Central Maine Medical Center with possible minor smoke inhalation. Crews responded at about 7 a.m. to calls of an "explosion" at 40 Middle St. in Sabattus.

The television station reported firefighters from Sabattus, Wales, Lisbon and Lewiston responded to the blaze, which was under control in less than an hour.

According to Channel 8, the State Fire Marshal's Office was investigating the blaze, which destroyed the back porch of the home. No cause had been determined as of Tuesday night.

Copyright 2012 - Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine

McClatchy-Tribune News Service