Sudbury man hailed ‘hero’

BY TRACEY DUGUAY

After dodging rocket attacks in Afghanistan, rescuing a man from a burning building was a cakewalk for Greater Sudbury resident Cpl. Spencer Curry.

A reservist with the 2nd battalion, Irish Regiment of Canada, he returned just over a year ago from a six-month tour of duty, stationed at the international coalition base at Kandahar Airport.

Curry’s military training kicked in as the drama unfolded last Wednesday in Schumaker, just outside of Timmins. He had spent Tuesday night with family in nearby South Porcupine, and had a job interview with a mining company in Timmins on Thursday.

On his way back from a coffee run in the morning, he saw thick black smoke coming from somewhere nearby.

Curious, he followed it until he found himself in front of small four-unit apartment building, which was ablaze.

The fire was mainly confined to the attached garage. But it was spreading quickly and heavy smoke was already filling the building.

A man standing outside of the house told Curry the fire department had been called. But what he said next prompted Curry into action.

“There still might be somebody left upstairs.”

Curry banged on the door of the apartment to see if anyone was home. Black smoke billowed out of the windows.
“I could hear a little puppy whining inside,” he said.

Kicking the door open, Curry found the puppy inside a porch-like enclosure. The second door leading into the apartment swung open when he pounded on it.

His heart raced even faster when he saw a baby stroller in the kitchen. A film of soot covered him as he made his way through the small apartment.

Asleep in his bedroom, Jean-Paul Boissonneault was oblivious to the danger around him. The sound of Curry crashing through the door woke him up.

“I woke up to a loud banging on my door and some random civilian telling me I had to get out of the house quick,” Boissonneault said in an interview with the local daily newspaper. “He grabbed my dog, told me to get dressed and get out fast, because the house is on fire.”

As Boissonneault dressed, Curry remembers watching the thick tunnels of smoke twirl around the ceiling of the bedroom.

“The flames were in the apartment next to him, about two-feet away from where he was sleeping. There was a wall dividing it and they hadn’t broke through yet,” he said. “But I don’t think he had too much time before the room filled up with smoke.”

The men made their way out of the apartment, and a few minutes later fire trucks arrived on the scene. After putting the puppy inside Curry’s car, they stood in the cold morning air and watched as firefighters tried in vain to get the blaze under control.

The building, and all the contents inside, was completely destroyed.

Luckily Boissonneault’s girlfriend, Jessica Greenbury, and their five-month old son, Logan, weren’t home when the fire started. However, the couple, who didn’t have insurance, lost everything they owned.

Boissonneault understands the outcome could have been much more tragic had Curry not come along when he did.

“Who knows what could have happened had he not come along. It just goes to show that even if you’re not serving in the war, you’re still helping other people,” he told the local newspaper.

A family relative set up a Facebook group called Donations: Help Jessica, JP and Logan for anyone who wants to help the young family. Cash donations, gift certificates, or items like clothes, personal hygiene products or baby-related products are needed.

“The generosity of people in Timmins, as well as all over the place, has been so overwhelming,” said group founder Louise Malette in an email. She also wrote, “Spencer Curry is a hero in everyone’s heart.”

Uncomfortable with the adulation, the modest infantryman just shrugs it off.

“I’m not a hero. I think anybody would do that. If there’s a person in there, you gotta get ‘em out.”

Whether he sees himself as a hero or not, Curry’s “wall” on Facebook is quickly filling with messages from friends, praising him for his quick actions.

“Way to go, just read the article, old Army instincts kicked in, eh. Right on, good job man.”

“Spencer, you are a true hero! Way to go man...you saved someone’s life...that’s amazing!”

“Awesome job Spencer! That’s incredible...I hope that job interview went well too!”

Speaking of the interview, Curry reports in for his new job in Timmins on Feb. 7, proving once again good deeds don’t always go unrewarded.