'Did What I Could Do': Quick-Acting Neighbor Staved Off Garage Fire

NORTH MERRICK, NY — The garage fire in North Merrick that quickly spread to its adjoining home Wednesday threatened to damage a neighboring house. But a friend and good Samaritan kept the flames at bay.

Charles Berry, who lives across the street on Union Drive, smelled smoke and jumped into action. As flames approached his good friend Loretta LaCourte's home, just feet away from the neighbor's engulfed garage, he grabbed a hose.

"The only thing I could do is grab her garden hose and start wetting down her house," Berry told Patch.

Despite those efforts, "the siding was still starting to melt," he said.

Berry, 74, whose only firefighting training came during Navy boot camp more than a half-century ago, maintained the sprays of water.

If not for a large tree shielding him from the heat, "I wouldn't have been able to do anything," Berry admitted.

He remained at the scene before the police arrived and until the North Merrick Fire Department showed up, working on the house for as many as 30 minutes, he estimated. And given what he saw with the siding, "I'm pretty sure that the fire would have spread to her house."

Berry hosed from her deck, unaware of a barbecue grill and propane tank steps away. Another neighbor noticed the grill's cover was melting and moved the grill away from the heat.

LaCourte wasn't home at the time, but her dog was inside, prompting firefighters to break down the door to rescue the pet, he said.

Other than a few broken windows, her home had no internal damage.

Firefighters ripped off the siding and roof to make sure there weren't any hidden embers.

As for calling Berry a hero for his actions, "I don't like to take bows. I did what I could do."