Thursday, 4:30 PM
Rockland police officer helps father save four daughters from fire
(Jonathan Wiggs/ Globe Staff)
Maryellen Childs helped pick up the pieces today at her brother’s home in Rockland after a four-alarm fire. Her 7-year-old nephew, Jason, helped.
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff, and Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent
ROCKLAND -- An alert night patrolmen helped a father rescue his four young daughters from their home this morning before it was overcome by a four-alarm fire.
Officer Richard Phelps arrived on North Street shortly after 3 a.m. as smoke billowed out of the back of the white, colonial-style home. Rudy and Lori Childs were standing outside trying to determine the severity of the fire.
"I didn't know what to do," Childs said in an interview several hours after the fire. "He got our senses together."
Phelps and Childs ran back into the house and carried out the four girls, aged 7, 4, 2, and 6 months.
Rudy Childs awoke at about 3 a.m. to a beeping sound that he thought was an alarm clock for his wife, who works at Anita Marie's Coffee shop in Rockland. The beeping was actually a smoke detector, Childs said, and he got up to investigate.
In the bathroom, Childs said he noticed part of a ceiling fan had fallen on the floor and was on fire. He looked up where the fan had been and discovered that flames had spread to the insulation in the ceiling.
Childs said he woke up his daughters and brought them downstairs but was disorientated and didn't realize the extent of the fire. When he went outside to investigate, Childs met Phelps. Moments after the pair rescued the four girls, the house was engulfed in flames, Childs said.
Rockland firefighters responded to the call at 3:15 a.m., said Lieutenant John Sammon. One firefighter suffered minor injures fighting the fire and was taken to a local hospital.
