Saugus fire victim: ‘I never thought they’d get me out’

SAUGUS – Ida Battley might have woken up in a strange room, a little sore and with a heavy heart but she said she was just surprised she woke up at all.Battley, speaking from her bed at Peabody Glen Healthcare Center, was the subject of a dramatic rescue Thursday after the Saugus home she shared with her husband and daughter went up in flames.”Lord, I never thought they’d get me out,” she said in her thick Louisiana accent. “I told them to leave me there.”Battley, a double amputee, was alone in her second floor apartment at 483 Central St. when she heard her daughter, who lives downstairs, yell that there was a fire. Her husband, Feldman, was at an adult daycare program in Lynn.Battley said the next thing she remembers is a man coming toward her through the smoke.”I think he came right in off the street,” she said. “He said to me ‘We’re going to get you out.'”The man was Fire Prevention Capt. Thomas Nolan who was in the area when the fire broke out and ran in to rescue Battley, despite the fact he had no turnout gear and was wearing only civilian clothing.His decision saved Battley’s life.Fire Chief James Blanchard said the thick black smoke that filled the room would have killed Battley had Nolan not reached her when he did.Friday morning Battley suffered a small rumbling cough, a little reminder of her adventure the day before.”It was a bad day,” she said softly.She said after Nolan reached her he draped a blanket over her head and helped her to a window. She said she remembers him breaking the glass all the while explaining to her what they were going to do.But when Nolan told her he was going to lift her over the windowsill where some men were going to help her down a ladder, she said she thought she’d never make it. She said she told Nolan to leave her there and get himself out.Nolan was not alone, however. Working next door on a landscape job was off duty firefighter William Cross.Cross said when he learned Nolan was in the building with Battley, he and Fire Capt. Don Shea, who was with the first company on the scene, threw a ladder up to the window. Cross scrambled up the ladder, helped Battley over the sill and handed her down to Shea.”I forgot to thank them,” Battley said with a small smile. “Oh Lord, my mind was going in all directions then they put me in the ambulance and the ride was so bumpy.”Nolan also found himself in an ambulance on the way to Massachusetts General Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. While initial reports indicated his condition was serious, Nolan reportedly checked himself out of the hospital Thursday night and showed up for work Friday morning.Fire Department Administrative Assistant Donna Lawrence said Nolan was immediately told to take the day off and sent home.Nursing Director Tammy Minter said Battley and her husband would remain with Peabody Glen until they were ready to go.Battley said she is unsure where her home will be when she is ready. Her daughter Felicia, who owned the building, is staying in a motel until she sorts things out.”She told me it would all be alright,” Battley said. “She told me not to worry.”