Officer rescues 2 people in house blaze
Published: March 3, 2006
Seattle police Officer Jacob Haines’ detour from his normal patrol route Wednesday enabled him to help save the lives of two people in a house fire.
By diverting from routine and beginning his morning patrol by driving up 15th Avenue South instead of Beacon Avenue, Haines encountered a burning home.
“It was just one of those things,” he said. “I’m grateful I was there at the right time, and facing the right direction, to have seen the smoke.”
Haines noticed smoke pouring from the vents of a home near Cleveland High School around 4:20 a.m. He called for help and began banging on the door and looking in the windows for residents.
When he got no response, he broke a window, took a big breath, thrust his head inside and yelled. “The smoke was so thick, you literally couldn’t see your hand in front of your face,” Haines said.
Haines returned to the front door and kicked it down. Standing just inside the doorway was a man who was disoriented and confused. By the time Haines got the man outside, Officer James Parnell had joined him and the two went around to a side window, where they saw the feet of a motionless woman.
They broke the window open and tried to pull her through, but her leg was caught in a bedpost, Haines said.
Firefighters arrived, and firefighter Jason Lynch freed the woman. Four dogs also were rescued.
Both occupants of the house suffered severe smoke inhalation and were taken to Harborview Medical Center. They were later moved to a decompression chamber at Virginia Mason Hospital because they inhaled so much carbon monoxide, said Seattle Fire Department Lt. Sue Stangl.
Both were in critical condition Wednesday night.
Haines and Parnell were treated at Harborview for smoke inhalation. Lynch also needed stitches for a leg injury.
Fire investigators determined that the blaze was sparked by a malfunctioning kitchen appliance. Damage was estimated at $35,000.
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