LIMA — After barely escaping a house fire with her life thanks to the actions of two fast-responding police officers, Tonya Brown was emotional Thursday as she called them heroes for saving her.
“I’m just so glad they were there,” Brown said.
Officers Sam Crish and Matt Woodworth were nearby and arrived on the scene of the 3:14 a.m. fire at 420 W. Haller St. in less than a minute after the call came in.
They found a dog and small boy in the yard screaming. Flames were in front of their eyes and smoke pouring out of the house. They were unsure if anyone else was inside but ran onto the porch toward the door where they encountered a man bringing another small boy out of the house.
Crish and Woodworth were told a woman remained inside. They ran in through the smoke and up the stairs. They quickly located Brown in a bedroom. She was coughing but conscious. She was a little disoriented and unable to walk on her own.
“I somehow got trapped. If it wasn’t for the officers … ,” she said, pausing with emotion in her voice.
The two officers had to act fast if they were going to get her out and escape themselves.
They decided to carry Brown out, a slow process but their only option. They picked up the 34-year-old woman and began carrying her out the bedroom and down the stairs. Seconds seemed like minutes as the smoke continued to build.
As they finished the descent from the stairs into the living room, Officers Brian Snyder and Zane Slusher met them in the smoke-filled room just feet from the door and safety. They assisted Crish and Woodworth in carrying Brown out.
“I don’t remember them coming to me and carrying me out,” she said. “I’m still really shaken up.”
Brown suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital to be treated then released. Crish and Woodworth drove themselves to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation but were OK, officials said.
Lima Police Lt. Andy Green said the officers went above and beyond the call of duty while putting themselves at risk to save Brown.
“We are extremely proud of the bravery these officers displayed,” Green said.
Lima Fire Battalion Chief Morris Martin said the fire started in the kitchen when a pan of grease, accidentally left on the stove, caught fire. The fire caused extensive damage to the inside of the house with an estimate of $20,000, Martin said.
The house is valued at $34,000 and owned by Claude E. and Valerie K. Bodine, according to Allen County Auditor records.
Brown said she and her two boys, Vinnie, 7 and Elijah, 6, were sleeping when she woke to the smell of smoke and the smoke alarm sounding. She noticed the fire and tried to get to her children but initially was unable. She ran outside to get help. Her neighbor, Steve Gast, ran over to help.
“I couldn’t find my son and I was screaming and I saw (Gast) run in and I said, ‘Help me, help me.’ He grabbed my boy,” she said.
She said Gast, her next door neighbor, is a hero, too.
Gast retrieved one of the children from the home while Brown also entered the home but became disoriented and was the only person left in the house until the officers arrived to rescue her.
Brown lost everything in the fire including two cats, one of which she had for 20 years. She does not have insurance. Still, she said she is thankful the loss was not greater.
“I’m just glad my boys are OK,” she said.
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