West Brookfield (CBS) – A part-time police officer in West Brookfield saved lives over the weekend when he pulled three people out of a house that was set on fire by a lightning strike.
Officer Frank Jolin got a big hug Monday night from Mandy Leo — whose daughter was one of them. “Nothing prepares you for this,” said Leo, tearfully. “Nothing.”
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Leo and her husband were out of town over the weekend, leaving home for their adult daughter and two of her friends.
A fire breaks out in the garage of a West Brookfield home after being struck by lightning (WBZ-TV)
It was hit by the garage of the house on West Main Street during a strong thunderstorm at four o’clock on Sunday morning.
Officer Jolin was less than a mile away when a neighbor called in the flames and was the first to arrive at the scene.
Flames were already rising from the roof when the neighbor told Officer Joline that she was unable to beat the three men hard at the door.
“When you’re told you have people inside you just go to work,” Officer Jolin said. “All you’re thinking about is getting there and getting everyone out there as fast as you can.”
West Brookfield Police Officer Frank Jolin (WBZ-TV)
In fact, a man inside woke up—and dialed 911—when Officer Joline broke down the front window to enter.
Not because she knew the house was on fire – but because she thought a thief was breaking in.
The uniformed officer quickly convinced the couple to exit upstairs, and then tracked Mandy Leo’s daughter into a basement bedroom—as smoke began to fill.
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“You know it’s funny,” said Officer Jolin, “but you don’t really think about the danger.”
“Properties can be replaced,” said a grateful Mandy Leo. “But people can’t.”
With the help of a solid metal door between the garage and the house, responding firefighters extinguished the fire.
But many people credit Officer Joline with saving lives—even if that downplays his heroic effort.
“Anyone I work with—all my brothers in blue—will do the same thing,” suggested Jolyn, a polite officer.
“I have no words for it,” Mandy Leo says. “I just do not.”
Turns out, Officer Joline is a full-time electrician—and a part-time cop—who says the reward for her weekend patrol is not a paycheck. It’s knowing that it has made a difference – and people appreciate it.
“You couldn’t have asked for anything more,” says Officer Joline, smiling.
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This was followed by another hug from the grateful mother.
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