When retired Bangor firefighter Phillip “Jethro” Dow realized his Palermo home was on fire Saturday night, he pulled his bedridden father-in-law out of the house and got four other people to safety.
Dow was supposed out of the house and at military-related commitment when the family noticed a hot, electrical smell around the furnace and then discovered the roof of the house was on fire around 10 p.m., said Jared Willey, a Bangor firefighter and president of Local 772 of the International Association of Firefighters, who spoke on behalf of Dow.
Dow’s 22 years with the Bangor Fire Department meant he knew how to calculate the risk of saving people and was able to make sure everyone got safely out of the house, Wiley said. Dow’s wife, Rose, their 7-month-old grandchild, two of their adult children and Rose’s mother and father, who is in hospice care, were all home during the fire.
The family’s three dogs also made it safely out of the house.
Now the family is picking up the pieces and figuring out next steps, Willey said. Everyone is still shaken from the fire, he said.
Dow’s in-laws are staying in an apartment, while other family members are living with his brother. The family started a GoFundMe to help as they start to recover. It has raised $6,650 of its $50,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon.
The roof and ceiling of the home were completely destroyed in the fire. Everything below it has water damage, Willey said. Some Bangor firefighters run a commercial cleaning service so they’re helping with cleaning after the fire and hopefully salvaging some items.
“Just a big army of brothers and sisters that are kicking in from the church family and his fire department family,” Willey said. “He’s got an army of at least laborers.”
Dow retired from Bangor Fire Department in February 2021. He’s spent more than 20 years serving in the military, and now works full-time as a chaplain for the Maine Army National Guard. He’s also a volunteer firefighter with Albion Fire-Rescue, according to the GoFundMe.
