A 54-year old Glace Bay man died despite CPR after an early morning fire. Gerry Somerton, owner of the duplex at 43 Concord St. was removed from the building and transported to the Glace Bay Hospital by EHS but died from his injuries.
Deadly blaze
Leo O’Connel lived in a duplex next door. He found out about the fire when his neighbor Christoff came pounding on his door. O’Connell threw some clothes on and ran over to Somerton’s house and opened the back door.
The Glace Bay Fire Chief John Chant received a call on a possible structure fire in a duplex and possibly smoke on the other side.
The first crew made entry via the front door right away. In just seconds, the was inside and moved the person out. CPR was immediately started on Somerton. There was heavy smoke inside the structure but minimal fire.
Upon investigation of the scene, there was some blown-in insulation in the attic that ignited. There was a small hot spot. One of the ceiling joists was smoldering from it and concealed by blown-in insulation. The fire has been declared accidental.
Learn CPR today
You can enroll in a first aid course today to learn CPR. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a life-saving skill that can help save a life.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a first aid and CPR course and for more information, check out these sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiopulmonary_resuscitation