Commentary by Frank Schroth

There was a house fire on Eliot Street yesterday just around the corner from my house. I was wandering around Ponkapoag looking for my golf ball at the time some of my neighbors were standing in horror and awe.

I spoke with some residents. One neighbor whose home filled with smoke opened the windows to her house, put the dog in the car and left the area. She said she heard some type of boom, smoke came into her house and all the dogs in the neighborhood began to bark. And then the fire trucks came.

You can find some photos by local news photographer Faith Ninivaggi here. Her shot of a man being loaded into an ambulance pretty much captures the anguish of the moment. People were hurt. A house was destroyed. A neighborhood was traumatized. But two people were rescued, no other homes caught fire, and the neighborhood is secure.

Another resident told of the professionalism of the first responders. “There were firemen from Boston, Quincy. . . Milton was in charge.” Two things struck her: “The firemen were all so matter of fact. They were so calm . . . and they went into the fire.  .  . It made me cry.”

If you saw Chief Grant on the news last night you might understand what this woman is saying. He described the situation much as if he were giving directions to the fire house, very matter of fact. It isn’t something he takes lightly by any means – it’s just that . . . this is what they do. And yesterday they did it very well.