Boston man hailed a hero for rescuing blind woman from apartment fire
An early morning fire at an apartment building on Tremont Street in Roxbury could have had a tragic outcome if not for a quick-thinking neighbor being called a hero. It started in a second-floor apartment where 79-year-old Geneva Fuller woke to smell smoke.
"She's blind, so she really didn't know what was going on. She had to go by her senses of hearing and smelling," said her son Keith Patterson.
Fuller activated her Life Alert which brought crews to the scene who then saw the smoke and flames.
Neighbor runs back upstairs
By then neighbor Socrate Joseph knew his blind neighbor might be trapped. "I ran back upstairs on the third floor, grabbed my phone so I could use it as a flashlight. Then I went back downstairs, looked for her. I grabbed her hand, and she was pulling back," said Joseph.
Socrate Joseph carried a blind woman out of an apartment building on fire in Roxbury.
CBS Boston
The frightened woman was combative in the face of danger, but Socrate Joseph says he had to take matters into his own hands.
"In that moment I just yanked her, put her over my shoulders. So I was climbing down the steps with her," Joseph said. "That's when one of the firefighters came and then they took her from me."
"A hero among us"
Fuller was rescued out a side door to waiting EMS crews. Joseph's intuition is something Keith Patterson says he'll be ever grateful for. "He was literally a hero among us," Patterson said. "I would say if it wasn't for him, I don't think I would be having this conversation with you, nor would my mom be alive. I was just forever grateful, forever indebt to him."
Fuller is a fixture in the Roxbury neighborhood having lived there for nearly 40 years. The building manager says he is also grateful for his tenant. "Ready to risk his own life to save another, to me that means the world," said Victor Luna.
The units now boarded up are a total loss leaving Socrate Joseph homeless for now, but knowing everyone made it out. "If I did not, it would have been on my conscience. I don't know her, but it was the right thing to do," Joseph said.
Geneva Fuller suffered smoke inhalation and will be monitored at the hospital for the next 24 hours. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mountain rescue Team called out in search for missing paddle boarders
Coniston Mountain Rescue Team were called out on a search for two missing female paddle boarders. No contact had been received from them for around two hours and there was concern for their welfare, although they were well equipped. One vehicle left swiftly whilst a second waited for other members before following on. On arrival the Fire and Rescue Service as well as the Police were already in attendance. However, shortly afterwards, crews were advised the couple had been found safe and well further along the lake shore. READ MORE: Lake District: Several acres of land for sale near Ambleside | News and Star A spokesperson for Coniston Mountain Rescue Team said: 'Phone signal can be poor in the area. 'This call out was made out of good intent. '11 team members responded to this incident which took 1 hour.'
CBS News
5 hours ago
- CBS News
Driver killed in fiery crash on 215 Freeway in Murrieta
A driver was killed in a fiery crash on the 215 Freeway in Murrieta on Thursday morning. The crash was reported just before 3:30 a.m. on southbound lanes near Clinton Keith Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officers were dispatched to the area after learning of a 2007 Chevrolet Malibu that had lost control in the fast lane and collided with the center divider. The crash left the car inoperable and stalled in the No. 1 lane. The driver, the only passenger of the Malibu, decided to get out and stand in the center divider, while the driver remained behind the wheel and called for assistance, CHP's statement said. Minutes later, a Ford F-350 transit van also traveling southbound approached the stalled car but was unable to stop in time. The driver, only identified as a 61-year-old man from Moreno Valley, collided with the back of the Malibu. The force of the crash caused the van to spin into the middle of the freeway. The Malibu caught fire as a result of the crash. Firefighters from Murrieta Fire & Rescue responded to the scene and extinguished the flames. The driver of the car, only identified as a 22-year-old man from Temecula, was declared dead at the scene. The passenger was uninjured. The Moreno Valley man driving the van suffering minor injuries and was hospitalized for treatment, police said. CHP officers closed all southbound lanes for nearly three hours for their investigation. Anyone who knows more is asked to contact CHP's Temecula office at (951) 466-4300.
CBS News
7 hours ago
- CBS News
Woman sentenced to over six years in prison for Corona blaze that destroyed strip mall
Woman sentenced to over six years in prison for Corona blaze that destroyed strip mall Woman sentenced to over six years in prison for Corona blaze that destroyed strip mall Woman sentenced to over six years in prison for Corona blaze that destroyed strip mall A woman was sentenced to more than six years in prison for a fire she started in 2024 that destroyed a Corona strip mall, firefighters said on Thursday. The blaze was reported back on Aug. 11, 2024 in the 1500 block of Rimpau Avenue, where Corona Fire Department crews arrived to find a fire that was showing heavy smoke and flames from the roof of the building. "Firefighters initiated an interior attack; however, while crews were inside, a portion of the overhang/soffit collapsed just outside of their point of entry," said a statement from CFD. No firefighters were injured in the incident. Crews eventually contained the flames and an investigation into the cause was initiated, which led detectives to identify Palm Desert woman Chi Lyu as the suspect. She was sentenced to six years and four months in a state prison for arson. "As part of her sentencing, Lyu was ordered to pay victim restitution and register as an arsonist upon her release," the statement said.
