2 officers honored for saving lives in Massachusetts duplex fire

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WPRI) — Two Attleboro police officers were recognized by the city on Tuesday after they rescued two people from a burning home over the weekend.

Officers Adena Joseph and Shawn Reardon were first on the scene after a fire broke out at a duplex off Mendon Road on Sunday morning. Without hesitating, both officers rushed to help those stuck inside.

Joseph said in moments like these, you have to “stay calm but also act quickly and efficiently.”

Reardon said he remembered seeing an unconscious woman on the floor and telling Joseph they had to go up to rescue her.

“We went up, crawled underneath the black smoke above us, and we were able to make contact with her and pull her down,” Reardon said, detailing his experience to NewsNation affiliate WPRI.

The woman was seriously burned and taken to Rhode Island Hospital with critical injuries. Both officers and a man who was inside the house were also taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Attleboro Mayor Cathleen DeSimone believes the officers are heroes.

“Heroes are people who go above and beyond on behalf of other people, and to save lives is just about as ‘beyond’ as you can go,” DeSimone said. “These two officers went into a burning house and saved two people.”

Although humbled by the recognition, both insisted, “It’s just a part of the job.”

But while it may be part of the job, Attleboro Police Chief Kyle Heagney said Joseph and Reardon “answered the ultimate call of duty.”

“They were willing to give their life to save another,” he explained.

The man evacuated from the duplex Sunday morning has since been released from the hospital, while the woman is currently stable in the ICU, Heagney said.

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