Bill Johnston found himself counting his blessings on Sunday. Among them: His immediate family and an extended family comprised of dozens of brothers and sisters in service from fire departments and emergency personnel crews throughout the region.

The 49-year-old Rumford firefighter fought death literally early Saturday morning after a roof collapsed on him while he helped battle an apartment fire in Mexico. By the time he was released from Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston Saturday night, he found himself reflecting on his near-death experience and all those who played critical roles in making sure he lived to return to his wife and five children.

"You always think 'this could happen and that could happen.' But when it actually happens, it's a totally different story," Johnston said by phone Sunday night. "Amazingly enough, I stayed calm through this whole thing. I went through 17 years of training in the few seconds I was there."

Johnston was among dozens of firefighters from eight departments who responded to a 1 a.m. blaze at 14 Holman Ave. in Mexico that gutted the structure and left six people homeless.

Mexico fire Chief Gary Wentzell said that investigators determined that the blaze started in the vacant third-floor apartment of the building, which is owned by Todd Wardwell. The cause is believed to have been electrical and the fire is not considered suspicious, he said.

Johnston and two other firefighters were on a third-floor porch using hand hoses to put out hot spots when a heavier stream from the ladder truck came on and the force knocked him several feet into the building.

Johnston said he landed face-down inside the apartment and had just gotten to his knees when he saw fellow firefighter Chris Moretto, Dixfield's assistant fire chief, motioning him to get out of the building.

"If I had to put it in one word - it was horrifying," Moretto said, describing what happened next. "He couldn't hear me, but he recognized he was in an area he shouldn't be. And then I heard the God-awful crack of wood. The sound of that crack and that roof collapsing will stick with me for a very long time."

Moretto was hit by debris and knocked out of the apartment onto the porch. A split-second later he realized two things simultaneously: First, that the roof didn't collapse on top of him, as he initially thought. Second, that Johnston was inside the burning building, now trapped by debris. He immediately gave the call that sent chills down the spines of every firefighter at the scene.

"Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. Third floor roof collapse. Firefighter trapped," Moretto cried, setting a chain events into motion that he and fellow firefighters practiced a hundred times, but always secretly prayed they would never use.

Meanwhile, Johnston said he fought the urge to break the rubber seal and remove his mask after his air regulator stopped working. He said he was still fighting that temptation when his world went dark.

Moretto's call for help got firefighters preparing to enter the building in search of Johnston. Within minutes, Rumford firefighters Chris Bryant and Ed Carey and Mexico firefighter Allen Chartier joined Moretto on the third floor and found their way into the building past debris that blocked the windows and doors. Moretto was able to direct the trio to exactly where Johnston was last seen.

"This was the first time I've gone in knowing that somebody was in there," Carey said. "It happened so quick - finding him - but each little step seemed like it took so long to do."

Carey and Bryant, who entered the building first, said Johnston was covered by debris from the roof, but they were able to find him based on Moretto's directions and the high-pitched sound of Johnston's personal alarm. Together they removed the debris and dragged Johnston firefighter to safety only to discover when they got him down the stairs that he wasn't breathing and had no pulse.

From there, emergency personnel from Med-Care Ambulance took over. They were able to revive Johnston while taking him to CMMC. Sunday night, Johnston, who suffered only minor injuries and bruises during his ordeal, walked into a roomful of relieved firefighters gathered at the Rumford Fire Department. Firefighters and emergency personnel involved in Saturday's blaze attended a critical incident debriefing called by Rumford fire Chief Richard Coulombe. According to Coulombe, the meeting was meant to provide a forum for those involved to speak openly about the incident, especially the emotional toll it took on the firefighters, and included a team of experts and specially-trained personnel from across the state.

"You know, when the tones went off, I wasn't initially going to respond," Johnston said, summing up how much firefighters depend on one another. "But when they called out for more manpower, I knew I had to go. You don't want to leave your fellow firefighters stranded."