Quick thinking aids fire escape
Published 11:17 pm Monday, May 19, 2008
EVERETT — At 57 years old, Tom Rochelle is in great shape. He rides his bike everywhere he goes.
He recently did some climbing, too.
Rochelle, who lives at the Copperstone Apartments in Everett, had to climb down from the balcony of his third-floor apartment May 9 to escape from a fire that severely damaged his building.
He had just finished downloading an electronic book when he heard loud popping sounds from the stairwell outside. People in the parking lot were shouting about a fire.
Rochelle went out onto his balcony, where he briefly considered climbing up onto his roof. He changed his mind when a neighbor began screaming at him to get down from his balcony as fast as he could.
“That’s what really got my attention,” said Rochelle, who served in the Air Force from 1972 to 1979. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to get out, right now.’ “
The most tense part of Rochelle’s descent was when he lowered himself from his own balcony to the second-floor balcony, he said.
After that, it got easier.
“I wasn’t scared,” Rochelle said. “I just knew I had to act right then and there.”
Rochelle, a consultant software engineer, doesn’t own a car. When he goes on business trips, he has his belongings mailed to where he’ll be staying and then he buys a bicycle to ride around in whichever city he’s visiting. When it’s time to return home, he gives his bike away or donates it to charity.
Firefighters brought him one of his two bikes from inside his apartment — along with his helmet, bike shoes, computer and camera — so he could get by until he’s allowed to gather his belongings from his old apartment.
“I’d always planned if there had been an emergency, I’d climb on the balcony and get on the roof,” Rochelle said. “For some reason, it didn’t seem like a safe thing to do.”
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
@4. OT ByNumbers hedder:What Happened?
The fire:At 4:20 p.m. on May 9, a fire started in a stairwell at the Copperstone Apartments complex at 420 85th Place SW. Firefighters had the fire under control within 15 minutes of arriving, but the blaze severely damaged an apartment building.
The heroes:
Elvis Hrustic, 16, ran into a burning apartment to rescue two children. Their mother, who does not speak English, was confused.
Araceli Guzman, 25, helped convince the mother and her third child to leave their apartment.
Shane Allan, 33, a former Navy firefighter, helped Tom Rochelle down from his balcony and told neighbors about the fire.
Injuries:None
