PRAISE FOR FIRE ‘HEROES’
Men saved lives in Macleod blaze
When Mackie Martineau and Kaden Clouston tore into a burning building after the roof of an old, wooden strip mall on Macleod Trail caught fire, neither stopped to think they might not make it back out.
Close to 40 firefighters and 14 trucks were on scene battling the blaze at the Urban Square complex in the 4500 block of Macleod Trail, which broke out early Saturday afternoon.
District chief Wayne McQueen of the Calgary Fire Department said the incident could have been deadly if it hadn’t been for the heroic actions of the two young men.
“They’re heroes,” McQueen said. “A lot of people had no idea there was a fire going on over their heads. If it wasn’t for them knocking door to door, it could have been a lot worse. They saved some lives for sure.”
Both Martineau and Clouston said all they were thinking about was getting people in the building — who at the time had no idea the structure was on fire — out to safety.
Martineau, 24, a former client at the Calgary Dream Centre, and Clouston, 19, a current resident at the centre — which serves as a recovery and transitional housing facility for young men suffering from addiction and homelessness — leaped into action when they saw flames blazing from the roof of the low, grey building across the street.
“I couldn’t see through the smoke. I was running around trying to get as many people as I could out of there,” Clouston said. “By the time we got to the exit, the flames were three times as big. I’ll never forget it — it’s going to stick with me for the rest of my life.”
Jordan Remple, youth program manager at the Dream Centre who works with Martineau and Clouston, said their selfless actions are a testament to the progress both men have made in their lives.
“The thing that really humbles me is a huge part of what we talk about in the program is reintegrating into society as contributing members,” Remple said. “A lot of time addicts get poorly stereotyped, but you don’t find too many people willing to run into a burning building to help strangers.”
Going from office to office banging on doors to warn occupants of the rapidly spreading fire, Martineau said at one point he found himself trapped with a woman on the second floor, their only exit blocked by a wall of smoke and flames.
The only way to safety was a 10foot drop from the second-floor balcony to the cement parking lot below.
“I helped her drop down to a group of people and then I dropped down myself,” Martineau said. “The fire wasn’t an obstacle, it was a threat. I just wanted to do what any other human would do and get everyone out.”
When Remple first met Martineau last year, he was someone else. Homeless, addicted to fentanyl and in and out of hospitals after several suicide attempts, Martineau found himself at the Dream Centre.
“He didn’t want to live anymore,” Remple said. “When he came here, he didn’t really see being sober as possibility. But once he made that commitment and realized there was a possibility to move forward with his life, he took it and ran with it.”
Martineau’s success in the Dream Centre’s program not only led him to graduate, but landed him a job as a peer support leader. And now, as Dream Centre executive director Jim Moore was proud to say, Martineau and Clouston have bettered their own lives while saving some others.
“These young men have done something really good and paid it forward,” Moore said. “They certainly were selfless in what they did. They’ve come a long way and now they’re making it in the world.”
No one was injured in the fire, though nine people were treated by AHS as a precaution. Investigators are now working to determine the cause of the fire.