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Woman Rescued After Turkey Fryer Sets Home On Fire In Gardner

GARDNER (CBS) – A couple in Gardner missed out on Thanksgiving dinner after a turkey fryer set their home on fire Thursday.

Shilo Meehan and Shayne Cormier both say they are grateful to be alive after flames tore through their home on Pleasant Street.

"We're all safe. (It) could have turned out a lot worse," Meehan told WBZ-TV.

Cormier was heating up the fryer and preparing to put the turkey in when the fire broke out.

"Went inside, started peeling a couple of apples for a pie. Then I heard woosh," her boyfriend Shayne Cormier said. "The pressure blew it up and caught the grease on fire."

When Cormier saw the smoke, he yelled to Meehan to call 911.

"All of a sudden the smoke just started coming in and it was getting so dark in there," she said. "I was screaming bloody murder.

Meehan wound up trapped in the basement apartment until Cormier was able to pull her through a window to safety.

turkey
The uncooked turkey still sits in the sink. (WBZ-TV Photo)

He also managed to save the family cat.

"I grabbed him by the tail and pulled him out," Cormier said.

The damage to the house is estimated to be around $65,000.

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