Off-duty nurse praised for alerting Winchester family to house fire
It was a typical morning for Tina LaTorella on Thursday as she walked with her 8-year-old daughter along Harvard Street in Winchester on their way to school.
The neighborhood was tranquil and the air was cool. Nothing seemed amiss.
But then something broke the calm: The distinct sound of crackling and sizzling wood.
Farther up the street, LaTorella, a nurse at Winchester Hospital, spotted the source of the noise. In the distance, a threestory home was on fire. She immediately sprang into action, passing her daughter her cellphone to call for help and bolting across the street to alert anyone who might be inside.
Now, LaTorella is being honored by her hospital colleagues for thinking on her feet, and not hesitating to help alert a family that was inside at time.
“I ran to the house, banging on doors and screaming ‘Fire!’ and‘ Call 911!’ as loud as I could,” said LaTorella, 45. “I didn’t hesitate at all. I was definitely afraid. But I knew I had to do what I had to do.”
As she yelled about the flames, LaTorella flagged down a passing truck driver who then joined her in pounding on the doors and windows of the home.
A few minutes later, a mother, her three young children, and their German shepherd staggered out of the house. LaTorella quickly guided the children across the street to safety and away from the burning structure.
“I was just comforting them,” LaTorella said. “They were screaming, crying, shaking. I just kept telling them, ‘You guys are safe. You’re OK.’”
She stayed with the family as first responders arrived, trying to keep them calm as they watched their home burn. LaTorella even exchanged numbers with the mother and offered the family a place to stay.
Once the two-alarm blaze was contained, LaTorella went about the rest of her day. She dropped her daughter off at school and then headed straight to work.
“I really didn’t think anything of it,” LaTorella said. “Honestly, it was just what needed to be done. Anybody else would have done the same thing.”
Her coworkers thought differently. When they learned about her good deed, Karen Keaney, the chief nursing officer, and Al Campbell, the hospital’s president, called her to the lobby. They presented LaTorella with a bouquet of flowers as other nurses applauded.
“Tina has been with Winchester Hospital for 12 years and we are all very proud and humbled by her actions,” Keaney said in a statement. “Her nursing astuteness, as well as her sensitivity to humanity, prompted her to go above and beyond to rescue this family.”
Almost all of the family’s belongings were destroyed in the fire, La Tor ella said. A GoFund Me fund-raiser has been set up to help them.
“My daughter, for the first time, I think she knows why I’m a nurse,” LaTorella said. “I want to help people . . . I’m just happy the family is safe.”