Somerset police officers save trapped woman in house fire; two treated for smoke inhalation
SOMERSET — When police officer Kevin Huzsek arrived at the burning house along Clark Street off High Street Tuesday afternoon, he was the first on the scene.
He saw a man, who turned out to be the grandfather, outside the house with two young children. They had been in the upper areas of the house. The grandmother, however, was trapped in a bedroom downstairs, according to Sgt. Richard Appel, who was in charge of the scene for the Somerset Borough Police Department.
The police
Huzsek tried to get to the woman through the front door but the fire, heat and smoke stopped him. He went to the back of the house and located the door he was told about, with the same result. Next, he went to where he was told the only window to the bedroom was located.
Once there, Huzsek could tell the room was full of smoke, so he broke the window, took a deep breath and climbed inside. He saw or heard the woman and was able to get to her and move her to the window. Then the smoke overcame him.
Meanwhile, Somerset police Sgt. Stephen Borosky and Officer Eric Grus arrived a minute or two behind Huzsek. Both officers ran to the window and helped pull the woman outside. Grus took her to the backyard to safety and was tending to her as they waited for EMS to arrive.
other: Police say suspect took items from vehicles, then took a car
Borosky said he assisted Huzsek out the window and stood by him. Once EMS was on scene, he went to assist the Somerset Volunteer Fire Department, along with Sheriff Dusty Weir. The firefighters fought the fire from the front of the building, while Weir and Borosky hosed down the back, Borosky said. They knocked down most of the fire in the lower level until additional fire personnel arrived. Borosky and Weir have backgrounds in fighting fires.
Another county deputy took the grandfather, children and dog back to a safe place, according to Borosky.
In the room that the woman was rescued from, "two minutes later, where there only had been heavy smoke coming out of the windows, the room was engulfed with flames," Borosky said Wednesday, giving additional details about what happened to the Daily American.
The other first responders
The Somerset EMS ambulance arrived and took the woman to UPMC Somerset; another ambulance came and took Huzsek there as well.
Borosky went with Huzsek to the hospital and while there, the medical staff noticed that Borosky also had smoke inhalation, although less so than Huzsek. Both officers were treated for smoke inhalation, and Huzsek was treated for cuts and scrapes he received going through the window. Borosky and Huzsek were released later Tuesday and were back on the job Wednesday.
More: EMS services in Boswell area secured once the fire department's ambulance ceases operations
At the scene, other county volunteer fire units rolled in to assist Somerset, with seven departments in all working to put out the fire in less than an hour. In addition to Somerset, personnel from Listie, Friedens, Sipesville, Rockwood, Berlin and Meyersdale fire departments and the Somerset and Berlin EMS responded, according to a Somerset County 911 supervisor.
The state police fire marshal was called in to determine the cause of the fire.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset police officers save trapped woman in house fire
