Foster’s Daily Democrat
ROCHESTER, N.H. — A 10-year-old girl helped avoid disaster Wednesday afternoon after her house caught on fire and she alerted her neighbor, saving an elderly woman and four family pets.
City and surrounding fire departments responded to and extinguished the house fire at 5 Susan Lane Wednesday afternoon that caused heavy fire and smoke damage to the upstairs of the home. The first floor sustained water damage.
No one was injured in the blaze.
Fire Lt. Dennis Dube said the incident began when the 10-year-old girl home smelled smoke at approximately 3:30 p.m.
The child, who was home with an elderly woman who was about to take a nap, ran to her neighbor, Bryant Michaud, to alert him her house was on fire.
Five people live in the home, but only the girl and the woman were present at the time.
Deputy Chief Peter Cutrer said the girl had practiced fire safety drills with her father that detailed who to go to and where to go if there ever was a fire. Cutrer said the home’s smoke detectors were not working.
A 911 call was made at 3:36 p.m., and the Rochester Fire Department responded to the scene two minutes later.
By the time the Rochester fire crews on scene, fire was coming out of the two-story home’s front center window. Both the girl and woman were out of the house, but a neighbor told one of the firefighters that another young girl might still be inside.
Fire crews checked the building while the fire was being extinguished and found no one else.
Three dogs and a rabbit were inside the home, all of which were rescued and sent to a vet in case of smoke inhalation. Dube said the dogs repeatedly tried to enter the home, but they were not injured.
The fire was quickly extinguished but the departments spent more than an hour making sure it was fully extinguished.
Cutrer said the cause of the fire is under investigation, but it does not appear suspicious. He added the young girl’s quick thinking likely saved herself and the woman.
“The young girl thankfully practiced fire drills with her dad and had a meeting spot outside her house which very likely prevented a catastrophe from taking place,” he said.
Cutrer wants to remind residents to check their smoke detectors to make sure they are properly functioning.
Milton, Somersworth and Durham fire departments as well as Frisbie EMS also responded to the scene. Farmington and Barrington fire departments provided station coverage for Rochester.
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