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Boyle house fire; councillor Sam Assaf saves the day

As Village of Boyle councillor Sam Assaf stood outside a burning house Dec. 12, no one yet knew he was a hero, with one exception: the family he rescued, who were safely by his side. Peering out his front window at 1 a.m.
Boyle Fire Department crews battle a house fire that broke out shortly after 1 a.m. on Dec. 12. Boyle village councillor Sam Assaf awoke the family that was sleeping inside
Boyle Fire Department crews battle a house fire that broke out shortly after 1 a.m. on Dec. 12. Boyle village councillor Sam Assaf awoke the family that was sleeping inside and got them to safety.

As Village of Boyle councillor Sam Assaf stood outside a burning house Dec. 12, no one yet knew he was a hero, with one exception: the family he rescued, who were safely by his side.

Peering out his front window at 1 a.m., Assaf spotted the burning house. Rushing to the home, he banged on the door attempting to wake the residents, which included a husband, wife and three children, eventually evacuating them to safety.

“I saw flames around the chimney and roof,” Assaf recalls. “I told my wife it was a fire.”

Assaf tried to break down the door to save those sleeping inside. He called 911, finally smashed down the door and vacated the family moments before the ceiling collapsed on top of them.

“During moments like those, you don’t think about (how to do it by) the book,” Assaf explained.

At the time of the rescue, the house had become filled with smoke and the fire had engulfed the top of the home.

With the family secure, Assaf moved their vehicles down the street. Once the first fire truck arrived, he told them the house was clear.

“We would like to commend the fast actions of village councillor Sam Assaf, for getting to the house and waking the family,” praised Boyle Fire Chief Matt Purton. “He undoubtedly saved the lives of this family.”

During last Wednesday’s Boyle village council meeting, superintendent of public works and utilities, Dennis Tomuschat, echoed the acclaim Purton had for Assaf.

“Sam should be commended for getting the family out of the house,” Tomuschat said. “If he didn’t, they surely would have died.”

The Boyle Fire Department arrived at the Birch Street home seven minutes after the first call came in reporting the blaze. They battled the flames until shortly after 6:30 a.m.

Two firefighters had to be treated for weather-related injuries by EMS who were on the scene.

The fire department returned to the house twice the next day to extinguish some minor flare-ups, a repercussion considered common with these types of house fires.

“The fire department did a very, very good job,” Assaf said.

Tomuschat said 590 cubic metres of water were used to fight the blaze, causing the village reservoir’s water level to drop to 68 per cent, two per cent shy of what is normally required.

Assaf admitted that he experienced some anxiety after all the action, but suffered no injuries.

“Lebanese guys are tough,” he quipped.

“I am proud of what I did,” Assaf humbly said. “I saved a family.”

Assaf also thanked his neighbour, George Hamilton, for helping during the frantic situation. With temperatures that night nearing -25 C, Hamilton opened his home for the children to stay warm and sleep.

It is still not clear if the home had operational smoke detectors, or if the residents simply did not hear them.

Though the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the Boyle Fire Department reminds people to have their chimneys cleaned annually.

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