A quick-thinking neighbor is being credited for helping to rescue a woman from her burning apartment early Saturday morning in Gardner, Massachusetts.
Fire officials said the blaze broke out at the 3-story building at 185 Woodland Ave. at about 4 a.m., and quickly reached 3-alarms.
Neighbor Leo Gallant raced over to first alert the residents of the fire.
"I started pounding on the doors, I ran upstairs and woke a girl up and (said), 'we gotta go, this house is on fire,'" Gallant recalled.
Gallant was able to help the woman out but there was still another one trapped on the second floor.
That woman's father told NBC Boston that first responders kept telling her to jump. But before she decided to do that, Gallant ran back to his house and grabbed a ladder.
"I looked at him, 'yah I got a ladder over, there,' did the hundred yard dash, did another hundred yard dash and gave it to them," said Gallant as he recalled giving the ladder to police on scene.
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The woman was then able to climb down to safety.
Fire officials are praising Gallant for his quick thinking.
"It's awesome for somebody to be able to do that in an instinct, instead of run away from the problem and try to help somebody," said Gardner Fire Lt. Dino Bordrette.
Fire officials said crews were able to contain the blaze but the building was destroyed.
No injuries were reported. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.
