Windsor man rushes into burning home to help wheelchair-bound neighbour, dogs
A Windsor man who uses a wheelchair, his seven-year-old grandson and two chihuahuas are thanking a neighbor who rushed into their burning home to help them escape.
It happened on Woodward Boulevard near Moxlay Avenue around 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Windsor fire tells CTV News crews arrived on scene to find a lot of smoke — mostly billowing from the home’s garage.
But it’s what happened before firefighters arrived that stands out, when Youseff Mocheimech says he saw the smoke and didn’t hesitate before rushing into the home to help.
He says he worried for his wheelchair-bound neighbor, Peter Morgan.
“I busted the door open, put the shirt over my mouth and ran inside to pull him out,” said Mocheimech.
“I helped him with his wheelchair then I ran back inside to get all his medicine out.”
Peter Morgan, who is wheelchair-bound, and his two chihuahuas were rescued from a ho use fire on Aug. 18, 2022. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)Morgan has lived in the home for six years. He says he’s seen Mocheimech around and knew it was a friendly neighbourhood but this goes beyond.
“Thank goodness for great neighbours,” said Morgan.
According to Windsor fire, the cause of the blaze is now under investigation but there’s no evidence to suggest criminality at this time.
Morgan says he has a theory as to what started the fire. “I got this new blowtorch and it hasn’t been working right,” he said. “It’s possible I knocked it over and that may have started it.”
He said after working with the tool in his garage, he, his grandson and the two dogs were in the house when the smoke detectors started going off.
Youssef Mocheimech told CTV News he didn’t hesitate to rush into the burning home on Aug. 18, 2022. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)“I went into the garage and my work bench was all on fire,” Morgan said.
He doesn’t know if he would’ve been able to get the dogs out without Mocheimech’s help.
As for that heroic neighbour? He said he never thought twice before running into the home.
“I just love helping people,” said Mocheimech.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.