Firefighters Rescue 81-Year-Old Woman From Tyngsboro House Fire
TYNGSBORO (CBS) -- An 81-year-old woman was rescued by a firefighter after a fire broke out at a Tyngsboro home overnight. Crews responded to Poitras Avenue just after midnight.
Four adults and five kids, ages one, two, three, four, and nine, lived in the home, according to the Tyngsboro Fire Department. Flames blocked the front door, but most of the family able to get out through a window with help from the neighbors.
"They were all gathered by the front window. The fire already penetrated the front door," explained Tyngsborough Fire Captain Chris Newton said
Upon learning that 81-year-old Connie Toombs was still stuck in the home, Newton crawled in through a broken window and found her lying on the floor and yelling for help.
Newton, along with the assistance from multiple other firefighters, was able to help the woman through the window to safety.
"Once they assisted me in, it was a matter of reaching down a couple feet, found her and dragged her close to the window...I was trying to get her to calm down and hold on to me so I could lift her out of the window," Newton said.
Toombs was treated at the scene and then transported to Lowell General Hospital. The fire department said she was conscious throughout the rescue and her injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening.
"She going to be okay. She a little bit burned but she's going to be fine," long-time family friend Lisa Law said.
Two firefighters were also injured. One was taken to the hospital but both are expected to be OK. Firefighters from Dunstable, Nashua, Dracut, and Chelmsford helped fight the blaze, which took crews about two hours to extinguish. Firefighters stayed into the morning to monitor hot spots.
Law thanked first responders for their hard work. "Thank you for the firefighters from all the surrounding towns," she said.
Newton added, "This family was saved by working smoke detectors, something that's overlooked all the time, people take them down, don't change their batteries right -- they were alerted by smoke detectors."
The family was in the middle of remodeling the home but now it is a total loss. At one point, part of the second floor of the home collapsed into the first floor.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The American Red Cross is assisting the family and a GoFundMe Page has been set up for them.
