WINCHESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A family from Winchester is safe after a fire tore through their home Thursday morning, and is now thanking a nurse who happened to be walking by at the time and jumped into action.
Flames scorched several floors of the multistory home on Harvard Street around 7:30 a.m., with the fire breaking out while children at the address were getting ready for school.
Unaware of the danger as the flames grew in the back of the structure, the residents were alerted when a registered nurse from Winchester Hospital acted quickly.
“We heard somebody yell ‘fire’ so my mom went up and we all had to get out because of the fire that was on the side of the house,” said Abbie Leonardo, a fifth grade student and one of seven people who called the building home.
Tina LaTorella was walking her daughter to school when she saw the fire and immediately snapped into action, trying to get the attention of those inside.
“I just ran to the house and was just screaming ‘Fire! Call 911,’ she said. “I gave my daughter my phone, told her to call 911, and to go bang on the doors on the street and ask them to call 911.”
LaTorella said no one came out of the home at first, so she flagged down the driver of a truck. Soon, their efforts finally paid off.
“One of the children came out and I said ‘you guys gotta get out, gotta get out of the house, there’s a fire,’ she explained. “I brought them across the street to safety – they were scared, crying. I was just hugging them, comforting them, telling them that everything’s going to be OK.”
The RN did not want to make a fuss about what she did, but her colleagues thought differently, with video shared with 7NEWS showing staff at Winchester Hospital gathering to give her a round of applause, flowers and kind words afterwards.
At the same time, fire officials continued to invetigate the blaze on Harvard Street, determining that the flames started in the back of the building on the second floor and had burned inside the walls.
“There’s a lot of smoke and water damage,” said Winchester Fire Chief Steven Osborne. “They won’t be able to live there for quite some time – it needs a lot of rehab.”
While the damage was extensive, the family affected said their pets survived, as well as a crucifix.
“This is the only thing that survived the fire, it’s like a blessing – somebody’s watching us,” a woman who lived at the home said as she showed the cross, thanking LaTorella for what she had done as well.
“We don’t even have the words to thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry I’m getting emotional, but thank God you were there, and I don’t even know how to thank you.”
A GoFundMe drive has been set up to assist the Leonardo family following Thursday’s fire. More information can be found here.
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