Tenn. Officers Use Tools to Help Family Escape Fire

Four Chattanooga police officers saved a family from a burning home Thursday morning by using a crowbar to pry the security bars off a window so the people could escape.

The fire broke out at 1207 Crutchfield St. around 3 a.m. Thursday, according to Chattanooga Fire Department spokesman Bruce Garner.

The four police officers -- Caleb Brooks, Harry Horton, Trevor Creighton and Sgt. Daniel Francis -- arrived at the house before firefighters and discovered that three adults and a baby were trapped inside.

The fire was blocking both the front and back doors of the house and all the windows were covered with security bars, according to the fire department. Inside, a 24-year-old man, 22-year-old woman, 86-year-old woman and a 9-month-old baby crowded together at one window.

"[The] mom was holding the baby up to the security bars to get fresh air," Francis said.

Officer Horton arrived on the scene first and pulled a satellite dish out of the ground to try and pry the bars off the window. Eventually, the officers retrieved a crowbar from Francis' patrol car and used that to pry the bars off the window, according to police. The family then squeezed through the small window to safety.

The 24-year-old man suffered second- and third-degree burns to his hands and forearms, Garner said, and the entire family suffered from smoke inhalation. Both the 22-year-old woman and the baby were scraped and cut as they climbed outthe window.

The injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Garner said, and the entire family was taken to the hospital for medical treatment. They have not been identified.

The family dog later was found alive inside the house, hiding under a bed. The house was considered a total loss, and firefighters estimated the fire caused about $80,000 in damage.

Capt. Anthony Moore with the fire department said there is no doubt the officers saved the family members' lives.

"With the fire spreading like it was, all four of those individuals would have died within the next three or four minutes," Moore said. "Those police officers saved their lives."

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©2015 the Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, Tenn.)