Tulare County Deputy Alfredo Flores saves 12-year-old boy from a burning home, earning praise for his bravery.
A sheriff’s deputy from California has been praised a lot for his brave move in saving a kid from a big fire.
On Tuesday, Deputy Alfredo Flores from Tulare County was about to finish his shift when he got a call about a house fire in Orosi.
The intense rescue happened partly because of the video footage from his body camera, which showed him going into the fire to save a 12-year-old boy.
The kid, who has Down syndrome and can’t talk, was in a really bad situation, as his family told the Fresno ABC affiliate KFSN.
The kid’s older brother, Alejandro Fajardo, tried to save him but got too much smoke.
“I tried to get to him six or seven times, but I just couldn’t,” Alejandro said, talking about how hard it was to get through the thick, smoky air while calling for his brother.
Deputy Flores made three tough tries to get into the house filled with smoke, having to go back outside twice to catch his breath and get more air.
CA deputy runs into burning home, saves 12-year-old boy's life https://t.co/KYssHVaU5X
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) September 26, 2024
“Honestly, I don’t think I could have lasted more than a minute there, with all the smoke I was breathing in,” Flores said.
He didn’t waste any time catching his breath before returning.
Flores heard the kid crying from a back bedroom on his last try. “I just followed that sound,” he said, remembering how he broke through the door to find the kid standing up, still alive and breathing.
The video footage later showed Alejandro crying tears of relief when he saw his brother safe and sound.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux gave Flores a big shoutout for his courage. “What he did was super brave,” Boudreaux told KFSN.
When Sheriff Boudreaux talked about how proud he was of Flores, the deputy just said he was just doing his job.
“He really meant it,” Sheriff Boudreaux said, highlighting how modest Flores was and how proud they were of what he did.
