Heroes risked own safety in Third Line house fire rescue

Two Sault women are safe thanks to a quick 911 call from a neighbour and two brave passing motorists who saved them from their Third Line East home as it was completely destroyed by fire Thursday afternoon

Heidi Tanninen and her mother Brigitte Keller were rescued from the burning home by citizens Jamie Dosko and Justin Daoust.

“I heard someone yelling ‘your house is on fire’…I was in the back, working in the yard,” Tanninen told SooToday at the scene of the fire Thursday.

Both women were uninjured, though shaken.

“We saw the fire, and when we ran up (to the rear of the home) we noticed her (Keller) there, and we both went to grab her to bring her out. We asked her if there was anybody else in the house and she said ‘my daughter’ so I told Justin to grab her and carry her out quickly, and I went in and got the daughter (Tanninen),” said Jamie Dosko.

“I feel alright about it. I did my good deed for the day,” Dosko smiled.

“We were driving by and we noticed some black smoke and we thought somebody was just burning something, but then we noticed part of the house was on fire. We immediately stopped and ran in, trying to figure out who was there,” said Justin Daoust.

“I found the other woman (Keller) in the back. I said ‘we need to go, your house is on fire,’ and then she said her daughter was in the house, so I lifted her up and carried her out. I gave her my shirt and covered her mouth so the smoke wouldn’t go in her mouth, carried her out, then Jamie went in and grabbed the daughter.”

“It feels great (to have helped),” Daoust said.

Sault Ste. Marie Police say Third Line East remains closed today from Old Garden River Road to Foxborough Trail as a result of the fire. The public will be advised when this roadway re-opens. 

Sault Fire Services, in a news release issued Friday morning, say the home, in the 1000 block of Third Line East, was completely destroyed as “a result of a carelessly discarded cigarette.”

Fire Services received the neighbour’s 911 call at approximately 3 p.m.

Fire crews arrived to find the home fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters had the fire under control by approximately 4:30 pm.    

The Fire Marshal was not called and the fire is not considered suspicious. 

“Fire Services would like to thank the neighbour and gentlemen passing by at the time of the incident,” stated Paul Milosevich, Sault Fire Services deputy chief.

“Without their quick actions and assistance, the outcome may have been different.”

“Fire Services would like to remind the public to be extra careful when discarding smoking articles. Ensure they are out completely and large, deep, stable ashtrays are utilized. This time of year the potential for these types of fires rises, along with grass fires,” stated the Sault Fire Services news release.

A GoFundMe site has been established to help raise money to help Tanninen and her mother to help buy food and clothing and other necessities.