Two Mission Viejo deputies are credited with extinguishing a house fire and possibly saving the lives of a homeowner and her three dogs.
The incident happened at around 8:30 p.m. Friday when neighbors spotted smoke billowing from a home on Via Burgous and yelled to deputies that someone was still inside. Deputies T. Anderson and A. Sandler entered the smoke-filled residence and saw a rear wall and sofa fully engulfed by flames. A woman inside the home was trying to put out the flames with a garden hose. Anderson and Sandler grabbed the woman and pulled her out of the house to safety. Anderson then searched the smoke-filled rooms to see if anyone else was inside before grabbing the hose, while Sandler used his fire extinguisher to extinguish the flames.
Smoke and steam continued to pour out of the house as Anderson and Sandler grabbed three dogs from the backyard and reunited them with their owner. Firefighters arrived to find that the deputies had already put out the house fire. The deputies – including Deputy T. Dolan who arrived later – were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.
