Bourne couple perishes in a Christmas Eve fire

Police tape was draped over the door of the Bourne home of Leo and Marion Gagnon, who died in a fire that horrified neighbors and relatives. (Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

BOURNE - Neighbors and relatives watched in horror on Christmas Eve as flames and smoke filled a ranch house here, killing an elderly couple just minutes after they placed a frantic call to police.

The couple's 13-year-old granddaughter watched from the street as firefighters broke down the door and raced inside, said Beverly Polisky, a neighbor. "She was screaming, 'Get them out! Get them out!' " Polisky said.

Yesterday, neighbors grieved in front of the house, which was intact with a tarp covering a hole in the roof. A bouquet of flowers was set under a Christmas wreath hung on the front door.

Authorities did not release the couple's names, but neighbors identified them as Leo and Marion Gagnon.

"They were very good people," said Rob Martinez, a neighbor and friend. "It's not a very good Christmas," he added, his voice trailing off.

Authorities said the fire was accidental and they were waiting until autopsies were performed to release the cause.

"Nothing at this time leads us to believe that it's suspicious," State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said. "It does look like a very tragic, accidental fire on Christmas Eve."

Neighbors said Leo Gagnon was a 77-year-old Air Force veteran and carpenter, well-known as a handyman, and his wife, Marion Gagnon, 74, baked cookies for neighborhood children and helped her husband run a dog-grooming business in the basement.

Leo Gagnon had cancer, Martinez said, and he and his wife would drive to Connecticut for treatments. On the way back, he said, they liked to stop at Foxwoods Casino.

Leo Gagnon had built a clubhouse in his backyard, where his granddaughter liked to play, and he put a new roof on Beverly Polisky's house across the street.

"If I needed any help, I could go to Leo," Beverly Polisky said.

"He was an excellent carpenter," said Martinez, who helped Leo Gagnon on several roofing jobs.

The couple was alone at home when the fire broke out about 9:30 p.m. in the basement. Three minutes after receiving a 911 call from the house, firefighters arrived. The street began filling with neighbors, and the Gagnons' granddaughter and son, who also live in Bourne, showed up as well.

"I really feel bad for [the granddaughter]," said Alyxis Polisky, 13, Beverly's granddaughter and a friend of the couple's granddaughter. "She was so attached to her grandmother."

Firefighters broke down the door, and were hit with thick smoke and searing heat, said Joseph Carrara, Bourne's deputy fire chief. "They couldn't see their hands in front of them," Carrara said.

After pushing their way inside, they found Marion Gagnon on the first floor and her husband in the basement. It was the worst possible outcome for those awaiting news.

"It's awful," said Tara Riordan, a neighbor. "I heard someone screaming."

Firefighters said they had been to the house once before, about three years ago, when an accidental fire broke out in the basement. That blaze caused only minor damage and it was not clear what sparked it.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.