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(KUTV) Fires that break out inside a home, especially those blazes that happen when homeowners are asleep can take lives. But Friday in Alpine, that wasn’t the case, thanks to the fast response by Lone Peak police officers.
“We got smoke comin’ out the window on the top floor. Broken windows, flames on the ceiling,” an officer can be heard saying on his body camera as he and a partner arrived at the scene.
A call for help was made by a 60-year-old woman inside the home near 6th East and 3rd North. She had been awakened by the smell of smoke. Fire crews were on the way, but beating them to the scene were officers Brandon Farnsworth and Brock Suzov.
The pair walked around the home trying to get inside, trying to open one door and then another. They found the woman at a back corner window, thanks to help from the 911 operator. They were able to slide open the basement window, reach down and pull the woman to safety.
“Physically, she wouldn’t have been able to do it herself,” Sgt. Charlie Thurston said. “You can actually see the officer reach down and grab her and pull her out of the window.”
Thurston spoke on behalf of the Lone Peak Police Department, that made the body cam video public Friday.
“I think even that much time between the officers and fire crews getting there, it would have been … something different.”
Neighbors say it was quite the commotion around 5 a.m. Friday when fire trucks, with sirens blaring, roared into the neighborhood. But they were relieved to hear that the woman inside during the fire was OK. She was unharmed, despite the fire destroying much of the main floor in the home.
“I think that’s awesome that the cops were there to save her,” Vanessa Nelson said as she walked her dog on the block. “It is amazing. She’s blessed.”
But for the humble heroes, colleagues say it was just another day on the job.
“Just kind of a part of their normal day, I guess.”
Lone Peak Fire Battalion Chief Joe McRae told 2News the cause of the fire is under investigation, but it is believed to have started in the kitchen. He said damage was estimated at $60,000. The homeowner was staying with friends in the neighborhood.
