Nyberg: Getting out of a fire alive

(WTNH) -- Joe Matthews of Monroe awoke on April 9th to a fire in his home. After one o'clock in the morning he heard a pop, went downstairs to see what that was and saw drapery on fire. He yelled 'fire' so that his wife and three children would react.

Before he knew it much of the house was engulfed, but he moved quickly and all got out as safely as they could just in time to see the widows blow out of their home. A split second later they would not have made it.

Joe is on a mission to help other know what to do if fire ever happens, little did he know his firefighting father's lesson would be put into action.

"My father ingrained in my mind something about fire; coming from someone who was an officer in a large fire department and also as someone who almost died in a fire, he always told me get out. Don't look for anything, don't put your pants on, don't put your shoes on, get everybody and get out, because you'll never understand how quickly a fire spreads until you see it happen. And I can tell you from experience in the few moments that I was in that house when it was on fire, it spread a lot quicker than I can articulate. It's something, I can't explain it, but having seen it I can tell you my father words rang truer than ever."

Joe is also singing the praises of the Connecticut Red Cross. Volunteers were there as he and his family watched their house burn, and they helped them get back on track.

Joe says make sure you know where all your important papers are now, before a fire occurs, because when you have to start all over again it will make it much less painful.