A police officer and an off-duty Oregon firefighter saved an elderly woman from a fatal house fire early Thursday.
Gresham Police Officer Tim Taaca responded to a call about a fire that erupted at a home in Fairview, KGW-TV reports. When he reached the scene, Taaca found someone trapped on an upper level of the residence.
"When I got up to the driveway, I saw an elderly female stuck on a balcony with flames shooting in the air at least 30 to 40 feet," he told KGW. "The balcony she was on, there was black smoke pouring out of the door behind her."
An off-duty Portland firefighter who was passing by stopped to help, and the two found two nearby ladders. They used those to safely get the woman on the balcony to the ground.
Taaca and the Portland firefighter were unable to rescue a man who was trapped in the burning house. Heavy flames and thick smoke prevented them from entering the home.
Taaca said that it was fortunate that he and the off-duty firefighter were where they were when the fire broke out.
"Never been a firefighter," he told KGW.
"It was just acting on instinct and training," Taaca added.
