By Greg Ellison

(July 29, 2021) Two adults and two children escaped unharmed Monday evening, as Berlin firefighters took more than hour to extinguish a fire at 6 Stevenson Lane. A trio of felines was rescued later inside the structure.

The incident, which was reported at 6 p.m., displaced Ocean Pines Marketing and Public Relations Director Josh Davis, who lives at the location, along with his girlfriend, Morgan Coulson, and two children, Robert, 12, and Zooey, 10.

The fire broke out while the family was preparing dinner.

“We we’re going to have burgers and I put a pot of oil for French fries on the back left burner that was preheating,” he said.

Davis and Hill, who were sharing cooking duties, both stepped out of the kitchen for a brief moment, which was when the mishap began.

“My daughter knocks on the door and said, ‘It’s smoking downstairs,’’ he said. “We go downstairs, and the pot of oil is shooting flames up to the top of the stove vent.”

After surveying the scene for a means to smother the flames, Davis said it was quickly determined an exit was required.

“We had nothing but small dish towels,” he said. “It got out of hand really fast and we got everybody out of the house real quick and called 911.”

Within minutes, Berlin Police were on the scene followed closely by the Berlin Fire Company, with the Worcester County Fire Marshal’s Office also responding.

“They put out the fire pretty quickly but there was so much smoke,” he said.

Things got progressively worse when roofing insulation caught flame.

“There’s some holes in the roof that they had to poke in to put out the fire there,” he said.

Once the blaze was brought under control, Davis and Hill went about locating their cat pack.

“We thought the cats either escaped or didn’t make it,” he said.

Once cleared to re-enter their residence by fire company personnel, Davis and Hill went about searching for their pets.

“We went back in and found all three cats hiding under the bookshelf and they were scared,” he said. “I guess they were sheltered in a safe spot.”

With all family members safely accounted for, Davis packed his brood up to head for safe haven.

“We all packed into a car and went to my mom’s place in Salisbury for the night,” he said.

Davis cringed while calling the property owner, as well as rental agent Sarah Bunting with Bunting Real Estate to share the news.

“They were both super gracious and awesome,” he said.

Davis said the family is indebted to police and fire responders.

“They were so fast, kind and helpful,” he said. “They tried to calm us down.”

Outpourings of community support quickly surfaced, with a GoFundMe page launched by Colby Phillips, along with a local collection effort orchestrated by Berlin Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells.

“I got phone calls and texts all night and all day,” he said.

Wells said more information is forthcoming about a community outreach effort to assist Davis and family.

“I’m mostly asking people for restaurant cards or donations,” she said.

Wells said any assistance could be dropped off at the Berlin Welcome Center and would be distributed directly to Davis.

“We’ll be a collection point if people want to help,” she said.

Surveying the damage, Davis said it remains to be seen if the structure is deemed a total loss.

“The fire company did an amazing job containing it, but there was smoke pouring out of it for an hour,” he said.

Davis, who was previously employed as a reporter with Bayside Gazette, said it was unnerving becoming the news focus.

“It’s funny. I was on the other side of this a hundred times and wrote this story so many times,” he said. “Now I’m on this side of it and it’s scary.”

To donate to the GoFundMe page visit www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-my-good-friend-josh-davis?qid=95fadd32926ed9a70926933f1595f2c5