Neighbors help woman escape Lincoln house fire

LINCOLN, R.I. (WLNE) — It was all hands on deck for a fire at a multi-family home in Lincoln this afternoon, as massive flames and smoke blanketed the area, forcing neighbors to spring into action.

Five adults and one child were left without a home Monday evening after an extensive fire at a multi-family home on Bouvier Avenue.

Manville Fire Chief Robert Bradley said the department got the initial call of a fire at 2:15 p.m. on Monday.

Bradley said crews arrived to heavy flames and an injured woman who had jumped out of a third floor window.

The scene could have been worse if not for good Samaritans, who quickly jumped into action as the fire engulfed the home.

Neighbor George Moussa said he was working outside when he heard calls for help coming from a woman in the third floor window.

“She was screaming,” Moussa said. “She was in the window, half-way in the window.”

Moussa and a few other neighbors like Gregory Wagner were on scene before firefighters arrived.

“Nobody knew what to do,” Wagner said. “So, I’m like ‘does anybody have a mattress and then I’ll go grab a ladder.'”

With no ladder to be found, they pulled a mattress out of the first floor and convinced the woman to jump as flames were bursting out of the home.

“We told her ‘don’t worry, jump, we got the mattress, we’re three guys here, don’t worry, just jump,'” Moussa said. “And she did.”

“I think she landed on her knee,” Moussa continued. “And her knee blew, then the fire department showed up.”

Bradley said once crews arrived, the woman was taken to Rhode Island Hospital for further evaluation.

“The police officers from Lincoln PD were already on scene, were addressing her right away making sure she was ok,” Bradley said. “But she was talking to them, but I would imagine she has some serious leg damage bailing out of at third floor window.”

Bradley added that the extreme heat radiating off the three-story building made conditions difficult for firefighters, but thankfully, no one else was injured.

Neighbors were emotional after their life-saving efforts, the fire reminding them that life can change in the blink of an eye.

“There’s a lot of hatred in the world,” Wagner said. “We all just need to be grateful for each other, grateful for our lives.”

“Like my grandfather always said, furniture can be replaced, people can’t,” Wagner concluded.

The building was deemed a total loss with the second and third floors completely charred.

Bradley confirmed that at least half a dozen agencies were called in to help fight the blaze.