By Archie Ingersoll
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A Fort Wayne police officer rescued a critically injured woman from a burning house Thursday morning, a city fire official said.
The police officer arrived at 7213 Baer Road, near Lower Huntington Road, about 5 a.m., before firefighters and medics had gotten there, Deputy Chief Eric Lahey said.
The officer opened the front door of the one-story home and could see the woman’s head, so he pulled her to safety and started to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Lahey said.
The woman, identified as Sharon Dennis, 23, was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
A man had also been in the home. He tried to extinguish the fire before he got out on his own, Lahey said.
The man was identified as Isaac Eix, 32. He was taken to a hospital in fair condition.
When fire crews first arrived, light smoke was coming from the two-bedroom house, Lahey said.
“By the time we showed up there, there was not a heavy volume of fire,” he said. “It was kind of a small, smoldering fire.”
Firefighters rescued a dog from the house and managed to revive it. The dog was given to Animal Care & Control in good condition, the fire department said.
Investigators determined the fire started accidentally after food was left cooking unattended.
A smoke detector was found in the home, but it was unclear whether it was in working order, the fire department said.
Fire damage was limited to the kitchen, and smoke and heat caused heavy damage throughout the structure, Lahey said.
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