A Dieppe resident is being praised for his quick actions during a duplex fire on Blanchard Street on March 15th.
Roland Gaudet says he spotted the fire on the front porch, and reacted, “It started beside a wicker chair and once it hit it, the whole thing went up like gangbusters. I started beeping my horn frantically and I parked in their driveway, ran up the stairs and banged on the door. I then ran inside. They had a startled look on their face, But I told them to leave.”
The resident saw flames outside her front door, and gathered her family and two dogs and exited through the patio door at the rear of the unit.
Once they were out safely, Gaudet learned there were people in the other unit, as the fire was spreading rapidly. He says he immediately acted, knocked on their door then yelled inside, in both languages.
Gaudet says, “You don’t really give it a lot of thought because you might talk yourself out of it. The smoke overtook me really quickly though that was one thing. But you don’t really think, you just do it.”
A total of eight people and three dogs were inside the building, and none had realized that a fire was consuming the front and roof of their building. They all managed to get out safely.
Gaudet says it isn’t the first time he has done something like this, “Believe it or not, I don’t tell this story often, my coworkers know it. The year of the Edith Cavell fire, there was another fire across the street around three months later. I did the same thing, ran into a home up the stairs and helped a man and his two sons leave.”
He wouldn’t describe himself as a hero though, “I would have to ask what the definition of hero is, cause I don’t know. I’m glad what I did, but am I a hero? I don’t know. I don’t give it a lot of thought. Not running in, what the outcome could have been, I wouldn’t be able to live with that. I’d rather die trying than not try at all in that case.”
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Gaudet admits, some of his friends want to give him the proper recognition, “My two hunting buddies were at the camp yesterday, and they tried desperately to find me Superman pyjamas in my size.”
The Dieppe Fire Department believes that without Roland Gaudet’s quick thinking and immediate actions, the occupants on the second floor would not have been able to evacuate. They say, the intensity of the heat and flames broke the windows in the stairwells leading to the second floors of both units, blocking the exits.
“On behalf of the Dieppe Fire Department and the City of Dieppe, I would like to publicly acknowledge Mr. Gaudet and sincerely thank him for his actions. I would also like to thank everyone who called 9-1-1 or offered assistance. In addition, thank you to our firefighters for their efforts during and after the event,” said District Chief Marc Cormier.
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RELATED: Dieppe Firefighter Injured In Blanchard Street Duplex Fire
