Chaotic scene as father, firefighters try to rescue trapped youth
A teenager is dead, and another is in hospital after a house fire in Greenfield on Aug. 31.
Florenceville-Bristol Fire Chief Andrew Cougle said his department responded to a structure fire located on Tweedie Road in Greenfield after a call came in at 9:48 a.m. Monday.
“We were told it was a structure fire with an individual trapped,” said Chief Cougle.
“It was chaos,” he said, noting the youth was trapped in an upstairs bedroom. Cougle explained that the boy’s father had made a heroic effort to save his son but was unable to reach him.
“We did what a fire department is supposed to do; we geared up, located him, and brought him out to the deck,” said Cougle.
Unresponsive, firefighters and an RCMP officer performed CPR on the youth until Ambulance NB arrived on scene.
“Unfortunately, he was pronounced deceased about 20 minutes later,” said Cougle. Another teenager was also being treated by paramedics on scene, but there is no word on the youth’s condition.
The chief described the blaze as a “quick, intense, hot fire” that burned a minimal amount of the interior of the home.
“The fire was extinguished quickly; we used less than 200 gallons of water,” Cougle said, adding that the worst part of the fire was the heat and smoke.
The Centreville Fire Department assisted on scene, and both the RCMP and Ambulance NB also responded to the call.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
