A dramatic rescue operation unfolded in Everett, Massachusetts, on Wednesday morning when a three-year-old girl was plucked from the top floor of a burning apartment building by a brave firefighter. The blaze was spotted by two public works employees, Jason Papa and Jesse Whinocour, who rushed into the building to warn the residents.
The two men estimated that around 20 people were inside the building when they began clearing it, but they were unable to reach a unit on the third floor due to intense flames and thick smoke. Whinocour recalled, “There was too much flames, too black from the smoke. I couldn’t save her.”
Firefighters from the Malden, Chelsea, and Everett departments responded to the scene, and one firefighter took the initiative to enter the fiery apartment to search for anyone inside. Papa explained, “He ran in after we came out. We said, ‘There might be somebody up there. We can’t see anymore.’ We guided him up, he went up, came out a couple of minutes later, and she was lifeless. He ran down the street with her.”
Everett Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Hickey confirmed that both the girl and the firefighter suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were treated at the hospital. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Hickey believes it originated on the third floor.
Whinocour praised the firefighter, saying, “He went up there and saved her. He’s a hero…Thank God for that firefighter. She’s alive because of him.” The circumstances surrounding the girl’s presence in the upstairs apartment remain unclear.
