By David Hench
The Portland Press Herald
PORTLAND, Maine — Jon Tanguay said Friday that as sad as he is at losing the family’s pets in Thursday’s fire at his house, he feels blessed that he and his son are still alive.
Tanguay, 37, described how he and Nicholas, 4, reacted to smoke and the sounds of smoke detectors after the house at 62 South St.
He called 911 and got his son into the living room of their third-floor apartment but the smoke and heat were intense.
He looked out the window and saw firefighters putting a ladder up to the roof of the first-floor porch. Tanguay then lowered his son by the ankles to a firefighter standing on the roof, who caught his son and handed him to another firefighter. That firefighter climbed down the ladder and took Nicholas to an ambulance.
Tanguay then hung from the windowsill and dropped to the porch roof. He and the waiting firefighter climbed onto Bath’s aerial ladder to safety.
The house is owned and was painstakingly restored by Tanguay’s father-in-law, Mickey Brockett.
Brockett became emotional as he talked about how relieved he was that Tanguay his grandson had been rescued.
Brockett and other family members spent Friday morning dealing with insurance adjustors and retrieving belongings.
The house appears to be structurally sound, although there was fire damage on the first floor, and smoke and water damage on top two floors.
On Thursday, Scott Doyle, a captain with the New Gloucester Fire Department who filmed parts of the rescue with his cellphone, praised the Bath firefighters for their courage and initiative.
“Bath firefighters performed one of the most heroic things a firefighter can do ... It brought tears to my eyes,” Doyle said.
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(c)2014 the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine)
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