QUINCY, Mass. -- A 911 dispatcher got quite the shock when he realized the fire callers were reporting was at his own home in Quincy.
Veteran dispatcher Mike Bowes rented the first floor apartment at 97 Hollis Avenue. When the phones lit up at work reporting a fire at his address, he could not believe what the callers were saying.
"It's surreal. You don't believe. You hear it, and it's not registering," Bowes said. "I was like are you sure? Are you sure on the address? I said tell me if you're sure cause it's my house."
Bowes' parents also lived at the burning apartment, and the dispatcher rushed home.
"My main concern was my parents and as I came around the corner my father was standing out in the street and my mother was right behind him," Bowes said.
His family was safe, but they lost everything. Bowes said his job as a dispatcher is helping him cope.
"Nobody died. We can rebuild. The things we lost, we can get back. They're material things," Bowes said.
The State Fire Marshal said the fire was caused by an unattended outdoor fireplace that belonged to one of Bowes' neighbors.
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