A family of six renting a house in Saco lost nearly everything they owned in a fire that destroyed the home. A grandfather and his two grandchildren were inside the burning home Tuesday afternoon, and at least one of the children was sleeping. A crewman sealcoating a nearby driveway spotted the fire. His supervisor, Tyler Johnson, had someone call 911 while he ran to see if anyone was inside.
“I opened up the door, was yelling, there was a child in there, child and a dog,” Johnson said. “Was able to get them out, and then I talked to the child. I said, ‘Is there anybody else in there?’ He said, ‘Two more people in there.'” Johnson ran back inside and got the boy’s sister out as fire and smoke filled the home. “Yeah, it was really bad,โ Johnson said. โIt was a pretty scary situation.” He then went in a third time to get their grandfather out. “Mainly just happy everybody was safe,” Johnson said. He even rescued the family dog twice. “He just kept on running in and out of the house,โ Johnson said. โHe knew somebody else was in there.”
Johnson and his crew were supposed to be on another job when the fire broke out, but because there were a lot of cars in the driveway, he decided to move onto the next job, which happened to be right across the street from the fire. “We ended up going to Cleveland Street and, you know, just like you said, right place, right time,” Johnson said.
“It’s heroic,” Saco Fire Deputy Chief Robert Martin said. Saco’s deputy fire chief says firefighters got there in minutes, but by then, the entire home was on fire. “If anybody was in the building prior to us arriving, it wouldn’t have turned out very well for them,โ Martin said. โSo, the fact that a bystander was able to jump into action to make sure everybody got out, that’s a good thing. Great for the community.”
“I wasn’t really thinking about myself, honestly,โ Johnson said. โJust instincts kicked in, and you’re not thinking about that. You’re just thinking about getting people safe.” Johnson later texted his boss. “Really didn’t make a big deal about it,โ boss Andy Shamos said. โAnd just said he’d help some people get out of a burning house. What he did doesn’t surprise me. The fact that he had to do it was shocking. He’s a great guy and he just always does the right thing. And I don’t think anything registered but just doing what was right.”
Johnson has a wife and little girl but says at the time, his only thought was getting everyone out. “It’s just something that you have to do in that situation. Whoever is in that situation, I would expect them to do it,” Johnson said. “Just thank God that they’re all safe.” The Portland Fire Department posted: “Mad respect and admiration to Tyler Johnson of Shamos Paving and Sealcoating for his courageous actions. His quick thinking and selfless bravery undoubtedly saved lives.”
