'He is a hero': CTV Montreal camera operator saves man from house fire

House fire: CTV cameraman hailed as hero CTV’s Cosmo Santamaria was off-shift on Friday when he jumped into action to save a man from a burning home north of Montreal.

A CTV News Montreal camera operator is being hailed as a hero after he helped a man escape a burning home over the weekend.

Cosmo Santamaria wasn't working Friday night when he saw flames shooting from a driveway on Ruisseau-des-Anges Sud in St-Roch-de-l'Achigan, about 50 km north of Montreal.

Usually, his first instinct is to take out his camera and hit record, but he says something was different this time.

"I had the phone in my hand, and I go, 'Wait a minute, the fire department is not here. I need to take charge,'" says Santamaria, who has worked as CTV's overnight patroller for 15 years.

He pulled over and spoke with a neighbour who said they had called 911 and that no one was inside the home.

"I paused for a bit, hesitated, and thought, 'there's a car parked in front of the house…I don't think the house is empty,'" he said.

He knocked on doors and windows all around the home—but no one answered.

Instead of giving up, he waited a few minutes and then tried again. Finally, a man answered the door.

"I go, 'Your car is on fire. Get your shoes on and get out of your house because the house is starting to catch fire,'" said Santamaria.

The man had been sleeping, and it appeared no fire alarm was activated, said Santamaria.

Video he captured from the scene shows the home engulfed in flames as firefighters arrive.

The fire chief for the Montcalm regional county municipality (MRC) praised Santamaria's quick thinking and selflessness.

"I think that today we can say that he is a hero because he chose not to think about himself first," said Chief François Thivierge. "I think it's important to highlight that courage, too. It's an act of civic-mindedness in itself, and it's a kind of collective contribution."

Thivierge says Santamaria will be recommended for an award for his actions.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) says the fire is considered suspicious and it has taken over the investigation.

- With files from CTV News Montreal's Christine Long