Police rescue woman from burning home in West Yarmouth

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A Yarmouth police officer ran into a flaming home early this morning and rescued a woman who had passed out in the smoke.

Officer Marc Thibeault was the first to arrive at the home on Bradford Road in West Yarmouth at 12:40 a.m., according to a police department press release. Thibeault, a K9 patrol officer, rushed into the smoke and flames to find the woman.

"He removed her under some horrible conditions," said Yarmouth Fire Chief Randall Sherman in a telephone interview. "He did an amazing job."

After Thibeault carried the woman outside, two other officers arrived on the scene. The woman did not have a pulse, and the officers gave her CPR until firefighters arrived, Sherman said.

The woman was revived in an ambulance as she was being taken to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Sherman said. Once she stabilized, doctors flew her to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where she was in life threatening condition from extensive burns, according to the release.

The woman, whose name was not released, was home alone when the fire started. Her husband was out walking the dog and came back and found the fire, police said. The blaze was started by the improper disposal of an ashtray, Sherman said.

Two police officers and a firefighter were also treated and released at Cape Cod Hospital for minor injuries.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email