Local hero Normand Rousseau smelled smoke, so he went to the window — and saw an orange glow on the porch of the house across Prescott Street. That house, 75 Prescott, had been purchased by a developer and was about to have work done on it — two units added to the back — but there had been renters living there recently, and Norm saw that there was a car still in the driveway. So Norm and his wife Helen ran across the street — while dialing 911 — and started ringing the doorbell and banging on the front door.
Helen saw that there were lights on upstairs, so she ran around to the basement to try to get in, and she looked for rocks to throw at the windows.
Construction had been slated to start in two days, but three residents were still living in the house, and one of them was asleep inside. Awakened by Norm and Helen, he came outside, saw the fire — which was still very small at that point — and went back inside to grab some personal items. By the time he came back out, the fire had grown and started to engulf the front porch area. Fortunately for all, Norm had smelled the smoke, and he and Helen acted quickly to alert the resident about the fire.
Neighbors reported that the Newton Fire Department showed up very quickly from the station on Crafts Street.
The three neighbors living in the house are very grateful to Norm and Helen – and to Newton Fire for their rapid response.
Newton Fire Deputy Chief Jason Jasset credited “the quick acting neighbors and fast response by crews for preventing a bad situation from being markedly worse.” He noted that no injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
