NEWBURYPORT, MASS. (WHDH) - A Newburyport police sergeant and other Newburyport officers received praise Monday after they jumped into action to help residents during an early-morning fire at a group home on Spofford Street.
Newburyport Police Lt. Matt Simons and Fire Chief Stephen Bradbury III in a statement said Sgt. Megan Tierney first responded near 3:30 a.m. after she noticed flames near the home’s front porch.
Tierney rushed into the home and began warning residents about the fire. Additional officers responded to the scene and helped evacuate the group home’s four patients and two caretakers, according to Simons and Bradbury.
By the time firefighters arrived, officials said, all residents were out of the house.
Though fire was billowing from the porch, fire crews managed to knock down flames outside the house and prevent the fire from spreading into the rest of the building.
Emergency medical professionals evaluated the building’s residents and determined none of them were injured in the fire.
While the group home’s residents were displaced, officials said they remained in the care of the company that runs the home and were transferred to other facilities.
Officials said the cause of the fire was still under investigation as of Monday morning.
As the investigation continued, Bradbury praised “the awareness and quick action” of Tierney to warn residents after noticing the fire.
“The awareness, astute observations, and quick communication were paramount in a successful and coordinated response to a critical incident that could have had a much more tragic outcome,” Simons said. “The quick actions and bravery by Sgt. Tierney and the other responding officers undoubtedly saved lives.”
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