Officers Make Human Ladder : Police Rescue Family From Burning Home

Three Santa Ana police officers rescued a couple and their 11-month-old daughter from the second story of their burning home early Wednesday by forming a human ladder and helping them out a window and down a 30-foot tree.

Laura Avila, 24, said she and her husband, Ysidro, 25, were asleep on the second floor of their duplex in the 600 block of East Santa Ana Boulevard when she was awakened about 1:30 a.m. by their daughter’s crying in another bedroom.

The house was filled with smoke, she said.

She woke her husband, she said, and shouted, “There’s a fire in the house! There’s a fire in the house!”

The couple attempted to escape down a stairway but were unable to do so because of the heat and smoke, they said.

Ysidro Avila then tried to phone for help, but “while I was calling 911, policemen just happened to be driving by and saw Laura hanging out the window,” he said.

Officers Kerry Dunbar and Dan Moreno, who were on patrol in the neighborhood, tried to enter the home but were turned back by the heat and smoke, Battalion Fire Chief John Chambers said.

The third policeman involved in the rescue, Officer Richard Jones, arrived after hearing the request for assistance on his car radio.

Jones and Dunbar climbed the tree, Chambers said, and Jones passed each person to Dunbar, who in turn passed each to Moreno on the ground.

“No words were exchanged,” Laura Avila said. “Our heads were buzzing, and we almost passed out. I’m surprised we got down.”

The family was taken to Western Medical Center, where they were treated for smoke inhalation and were released, authorities said.

Chambers said the fire was started by a floor heater in the living room on the first floor that caught fire and ignited the carpet and an armchair next to it.

Damage was estimated at $7,500 to the building and $2,500 to the contents.

Police Lt. Bob Chavez said the three police officers’ actions were beyond the call of duty. “They’re not equipped like firefighters to enter buildings,” he said. “They took initiative and stuck their lives on the line.”

All three, he said, will be considered for the Police Service Medal, awarded to officers who perform exceptional life-saving actions in situations posing grave danger to themselves.