Family barely escapes fast moving fire in Mendon, Ma

MENDON - Fire torched their Christmas presents and burned everything except the clothes on their back, but the spooky Netflix series “Stranger things” likely saved the lives of a Mendon couple and their four young girls. That’s the way Police Chief David Kurczy explained how the family was able to escape a fast-moving inferno that engulfed their 93 North Ave. home in minutes just before midnight on Thursday. The fire was so intense, Deborah and Kevin Flanagan and their four girls ages 1, 5, 7, and 10, were only wearing the clothes on their back when fire crews first arrived at 11:42 p.m. Standing with their dog, they had no shoes on and carried two cellphones, one of which they used to call in the fire. And that’s the only possessions they have left now, Kurczy said. Deborah Flanagan was apparently up late watching a marathon session of “Stranger Things” when she heard a noise in the back kitchen. Thinking it may be the dog getting into something she got up to check and saw the entire back of the house was on fire. The house was being renovated and expanded and was not yet complete. Kurczy said the walls were still just stick framing and insulation with no drywall - a set-up that burns very quickly. Deborah was able to quickly rouse her family to safety but the house was soon a total loss. “Thank God she was up watching ‘Stranger Things’ or we’d be talking about a completely different story here,” Kurczy said.