Quick actions by Delta Police officers helped stop what could have been a devastating house fire in North Delta earlier this week.
According to DPD, three officers patrolling on May 18 in the Royal Heights area of North Delta observed a large plume of dark smoke coming from a home, around 5 p.m. After putting an urgent call into the Delta Fire Department, police got permission from the family to enter the home.
On the back patio, officers saw a resident attempting to battle large flames from a pan on the grill. Grease fueled flames had fully ignited the back of the house.
Police immediately evacuated the residence and controlled the flames until the fire department attended.
Afterwards, Fire Chief Guy McKintuck wrote Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord to compliment him on the quick actions of officers, noting that without their intervention the fire would have significantly damaged the home, and displaced the family, who have been offered assistance from Victim Services.
“Proud of quick actions by three officers this week, patrolling in N. Delta,” said Dubord in a post on Twitter. “They saw smoke, rapidly evacuated a family, and got a dangerous grease fire under control. Fire Chief McKintuck said the fire would have badly damaged the home, and displaced the family, if not for them.”
Deputy Chief Dave Wood said the fire would have been extremely serious had it not been for the quick actions of these three police officers.
Wood said the officers turned off the gas and used garden hoses to quell the flames.
“If these guys would not have been on scene…the flames were getting the wood siding going…it would have ran into the roof structure and once it gets into the roof, it turns into a serious structure fire,” Wood said. “It is one of those ones that it is lucky to have the DPD officers close by. They were able to turn off the fuel and make good decisions to put water on it before it got up into the roof.”
