Citizens recognized for recent good deeds
Staff Writer
Good deeds have resulted in a few saved lives this spring, as two good Samaritans assisted three individuals following two incidents that could have ended in disaster.
White
The most recent case took place in May and involved a local garage owner who was going home for lunch when he spotted smoke coming from a residence.
“I was working with my afternoon schedule in mind and left a bit early for lunch. As I drove along the Gardner Creek Road, I thought I saw smoke on the porch/cabana section of a trailer, so I turned around to get a closer look,” said Andy White, of Wade.
White said upon closer inspection, he saw flames.
“The porch was becoming engulfed. I stopped and threw out some things, including a generator covered in plastic and some other items. I stomped down what I could and used a shovel to put down the flames, but I could still hear crackling under the floor of the cabana,” he said.
He reported the fire, then went for water.
“I was trying to save the home. I tried the door and it was unlocked, so I went in and started filling a pail with water, not realizing someone was home,” said White.
To his surprise, he turned around to discover the owner and her child behind him.
“I was using the kitchen sink to fill the pail so I could put the floor fire out. When I was filling the third pail, I turned to go out and saw a woman and baby,” said White.
The homeowner is a member of the local fire department and was awakened by the toner going off, said White.
“The incident was just a series of events. All I was thinking was I wanted to try to save someone’s home. I was totally amazed to find someone in the building,” said White.
Washburn Fire Chief Troy Heald said circumstances could have been much different for the May 13 fire, had White not taken such quick action.
“Washburn is lucky to have a businessman like Andy. We made him an honorary member of the department that afternoon,” said Heald, noting members of the department and the community commend and congratulate White for going “above and beyond” in saving the home and its occupants.
WASHBURN firefighters examine damage to a trailer’s entrance, following a mid-May fire at the Gardner Creek Road residence. Andy White is being credited with saving a woman and child when a fire broke out in the entryway. White called for help, then worked to put the blaze out, saving the home and residents.
Another good Samaritan has been identified, following an incident that occurred on April 22, when a kayaker helped a man who’d fallen from his boat on Hanson Lake.
When the story made the paper, the woman’s identity was not known.
Her work supervisor has since identified the good Samaritan.
“The lady who saved the man at Hanson Lake is Mary McCarthy, a cardiac rehab and vascular nurse at The Aroostook Medical Center,” said Debbie Adams, manager of the department.
Adams wasn’t surprised to discover McCarthy had assisted the man when a medical condition caused him to fall from his boat.
“That’s just Mary. She’s wonderful. She was on vacation when she saved a life,” said Adams.
She described McCarthy as being “very unassuming.”
“She can be shy — not one for publicity,” said Adams. “We’re very fortunate to have her on staff.”
