A pair of Ada County Sheriff’s Office jail deputies working on the transport team helped get a family out of a burning home in Boise Tuesday morning.
Deputies Billy Fikes and Dan Allen had just stopped at the Jackson’s at 897 Cole Road to get a cup of coffee when they noticed smoke coming from a house at the Cole Road/Ashland Drive intersection around 7:15 a.m.
Fikes and Allen rushed over to the house and called Ada County dispatchers over the radio as soon as they confirmed it was a house fire. The front door of the home was open and deputies could see smoke, so they went inside to get the residents out.
Once inside, they found a man and woman. The man was filling something up with water. That’s when the deputies encountered a language barrier, as it appeared the adults did not understand what the deputies were telling them.
Deputies also found a young boy inside, and they were able to talk to him. The deputies and the child were able to quickly convince the adults to get out of the home — just Boise Fire crews arrived.
“It appeared (the man and woman) didn’t know how bad the fire was, but we could tell from being outside and seeing all the smoke pour out (of the house),” Allen said. “Once we all got out, we could see the garage door begin to melt.”
Boise Fire crews arrived and quickly called for a second alarm. It appears the fire started in the garage area. Fire crews were able to contain the fire to the garage area and keep it from spreading to the rest of that house and neighbors.
Dispatch records show the radio call from deputies Allen and Fikes was the first report of the blaze.