Crime & Safety

Off-Duty Firefighter Helps Residents Escape Flames, Prevents Fire's Spread

A bedroom fire on Bonair Street could have spread had it not been for the quick actions taken by a new member of the Somerville Fire Department.

A Thursday afternoon fire on Bonair Street could have been a lot worse had it not been for off-duty firefighter Eric Saulnier.

Saulnier, who "just got out of the Academy," was working nearby when he saw smoke coming from 62 Bonair St., according to Firefighter Thomas Ross, president of Firefighters Local 76.

Deputy Fire Chief Charles Breen said in an email that Soulnier and a co-worker, Steve Conway, were working on a nearby roof on Otis Street when they saw the fire.

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The fire was in a first-floor bedroom, and Saulnier alerted the second-floor residents to evacuate the building, according to Breen.

Ross said Saulnier then closed the doors to the bedroom. Doing so "stopped the fire from spreading anywhere else," Ross said.

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The fire broke out at about at about 2:33 p.m., and on-duty firefighters soon arrived and knocked it down.

Speaking on Bonair Street afterward, Capt. Vincent Lampley, a fire investigator, had not yet determined the cause of the fire, but he said it was contained to the bedroom and there were no injuries. At the time he thought no one would be displaced by the incident, but the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts sent an email Thursday night saying it had helped a family of three—two adults and one child—that was displaced.

Though he's new to the department, Saulnier has already made some headlines. Check out this photo of the firefighter as he hoses down a garage fire near Davis Square on Monday.


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