Neighbors Rescue Father And Son From Four-Alarm South Norwood Blaze-June 8, 1993

Plumber Brian Moriarty Climbs Ladder To Save Elderly Residents As Balloon-Frame Construction Fuels Rapid Fire Spread

Neighbors propped a ladder against a burning house last night and rescued an 81-year-old man and his son from the second floor. “It was a neighborhood thing; everybody helped,” said Brian Moriarty, a 31-year-old plumber who climbed the ladder and helped the two men to safety.

Firefighters from eight towns battled the four-alarm fire, which swept through the three-family South Norwood three-decker home at 50 Tremont Street. John Kanalski Sr., 81, was in good condition this morning at Norwood Hospital. His son, John Kanalski Jr., was in fair condition. The father and son were helped from the second-floor porch by Moriarty, who lives across the street. Moriarty and several neighbors put a ladder against the building and helped the Kanalskis to safety.

The Kanalskis, who live on the third floor, were the only people at home during the fire, which caused an estimated $350,000 in damage, firefighters said. Moriarty said he was at home when he smelled smoke and saw flames coming from the basement of the home across the street. He ran outside. “I got around back and there was an older guy and a younger guy on the second floor porch yelling for help,” Moriarty said.

A neighbor brought a rolled-up chain rescue ladder and Moriarty climbed the back of the house to bring it to the second-floor porch. But the older man was unable to climb onto the ladder when it was unrolled. Neighbors then brought a wood ladder and Moriarty helped the two men climb down. He said both men’s faces were blackened with soot and they were coughing.

Fire Chief Thomas Barry said the fire started because of a propane leak. He said Vera Willis, who lives at the house, and her two children, ages 4 and 6, had been at a neighbor’s house for dinner. The two children and two of the neighbor’s children returned to the Willis flat “to get jackets or something,” Barry said. He said a child had climbed on a 20-gallon propane gas tank in the basement to reach a spare key to the first-floor apartment. “Either the valve broke, or the child’s foot twisted the valve and propane gas was accidentally released,” Barry said. He said the flame from a hot water heater probably caused the propane to explode.

Firefighters said three neighbors reported hearing a loud blast shortly after 7 p.m. and seeing smoke pour out of the basement seconds later. Mary Soares of 68 Tremont Street said she was sitting on her porch “when there was this explosion and the sound of glass shattering.” “I got out to see what it was. When I got outside, all I saw was this smoke coming from the cellar,” she said. Police blocked Tremont Street and Austin Street while 82 firefighters from eight communities fought the fast-moving flames.

Fire Capt. Robert Molloy said flames spread quickly from the basement to the third floor because there were no fire stops in the walls. At one point, five firefighters were trapped on the second floor and had to be rescued by ladders. The floor of the second-story living room caved in, and a section of the third floor was beginning to collapse. A section of the third-floor ceiling collapsed above Canton Firefighter Walter Dickie. “He fell to the floor, and was probably saved from serious injury because the ceiling stopped when it struck a bed post,” Barry said. Dickie suffered minor cuts and was able to crawl to safety, Barry said.

One of three fire hydrants being used cracked, causing a geyser to shoot straight up into the air, but firefighters said they had plenty of water. Dickie and two other firefighters were treated and released at Norwood Hospital for cuts and burns. The others were Norwood fire Lt. Kevin Romines and Norwood Firefighter John Fanning.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger