RUMFORD — Matthew Roy of Rumford said he was driving to work at Cross Excavation in West Bethel at 4:15 a.m. Wednesday when he saw flames coming from the back of a unit at Madison Condominiums on Route 2.
He drove into the development, he said, walked around the back, saw Unit 4 was on fire and called 911. Then he ran around to the front of the building and pounded on the door of Unit 4.
“The people weren’t coming to the door so I kicked it in and that woke them up,” Roy said.
He went to the other nearby units, pounded on doors and kicked in one when tenants did not answer. Running back and forth along the line of doors, he and a man from Unit 4 cleared more of the building, he said.
Within 10 minutes, police showed up and together they finished clearing the complex, he said.
“The cops were amazing,” he said. “They were there real fast. And the Fire Department was, too.”
Roy said he’s “just glad everybody is OK” and that he was at the right place at the right time.
“I just did the human thing and helped people out,” he said. “It’s what most people should do.”
But it’s the police officers and firefighters whom people should thank, he said.
Roy said he’s “not the type of person to panic” and not afraid when faced with an emergency. He proved that when he and others helped rescue a Rumford Point snowmobiler from the Androscoggin River in February 2009.
mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net
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