BEAVER LAKE - Two people who barely escaped from a burning home on the eastern boundaries of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation on Monday afternoon, were rescued from the arctic weather they escaped into by a passing, off-duty Lac La Biche County peace officer.
The two people — a man in his 50s and a woman in her 40s — were dressed only in light clothing when Warren Young saw them as he drove towards the scene. The Lac La Biche County peace officer lives in the area and had been driving past the rural residence when he saw the people near the flames. One of the victims was very near to the fire and appeared to be having trouble moving. The off-duty officer bee-lined for the man.
"He quickly acted and ran up the driveway and began dragging the subject who was unable to walk away from the fire," says Lac La Biche County's Manager of Enforcement Services Chris Clark.
Moments later, two more peace officers — Melissa Young and Austin Zedel — arrived at the scene, responding to an emergency dispatch. The three officers kept the two victims inside warm emergency vehicles and attended to their injuries until an ambulance arrived.
Both people were suffering from smoke inhalation and had cuts and bruises. The man was said to be in serious condition.
"The three officers immediately began providing life-saving first aid to the male subject who was seriously injured. They provided updates to the responding fire services and also EMS," said Clark.
Fire crews, RCMP and ambulance arrived at the scene within 16 minutes of the initial dispatch. When Lac La Biche County fire crews arrived, the house, a small wooden bungalow, was beyond saving.
"When we got there, the walls were down. It was fully engulfed," said Lac La Biche County's Regional Fire Chief and Manager of Protective Services John Kokotilo.
Fire crews stretched more than 250 feet of hose in the frigid temperatures to knock down the flames. With the region under an extreme cold weather warning, the scene quickly became a mixture of fire and ice, said Kokotilo, explaining the difficulties of the call-out, including a downed power line and a nearby natural gas rupture.
Life-saving
While firefighters worked against the flames and the frigid weather, Kokotilo said the peace officers continued to care for the injured.
"The peace officers had them in their vehicle, attending to their wounds and keeping them warm in that minus 30 weather," he said, crediting the fast action of the first peace officer. "His actions averted a far more serious situation."
Beaver Lake Cree Nation Fire Services, along with fire crews from Lac La Biche, Hylo and Rich Lake attended the call, which first came in with a location just outside the Beaver Lake boundaries.
The two victims were taken to Lac La Biche's hospital by ambulance. Their updated conditions weren't known by the initial publication of the story.
Fire crews remained at the scene for more than two hours. The house was completely destroyed by the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Tough and varied job
Clark said peace officers have diverse roles in the communities they serve. Running towards burning buildings to save people may not be a regular part of the day — but officers are trained for it if the situation arises.
"Everyday our peace officers are engaged in a wide range of activities and calls for service. This includes dealing with snow-covered sidewalks, to parking complaints, to dogs running at large, to writing speeding tickets and even saving lives," he said. "Our Community Peace Officers are just that…part of our community. Whether on duty or off duty our staff have attended cardiac arrests involving infants, to elderly in a nursing home, attended collisions and treated persons who were injured, they have attended fires to ensure that everyone was out of the structure and the list goes on."
Clark said much of the work is done without credit, with officers working in the background to make sure residents are protected.
"Our officers are part of our community and do a difficult job. They live here, they have families here and they care for our residents." he said.
