HOUSTON, Texas — Houston police officers responding to a reported burglary forced their way into a burning Montrose-area home and led the resident through smoke to safety early Friday, according to the Houston Police Department.
ABC13 Houston reported Friday, Aug. 21, that the call came from a home in the 4100 block of Stanford Street at about 1:05 a.m. The resident had heard glass break, believed someone was entering the house and barricaded himself in an upstairs bathroom, police said.
Burglary call becomes a fire rescue
Officers were dispatched for a burglary in progress. When they arrived, however, they found the home's second-floor balcony on fire, according to the department's account published by ABC13.
Police said the officers kicked down the front door and moved through the smoke without fire-protective gear. They then forced open the bathroom door, reached the resident and led him out of the house.
The Houston Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire. Police said the resident was the only person inside and that everyone was safe.
What caused the breaking glass
Investigators determined that there had not been a burglary, according to the report. Authorities said a barbecue grill left on the patio started the fire, and heat from the flames blew out a window. That broken glass caused the sound the resident had interpreted as someone entering the home.
Police said the fire damage was limited to the patio and the broken window. The published account does not name the resident or the responding officers, and ThinBlueNews is not adding identities or medical details that authorities did not release.
The outcome turned on the responding officers recognizing that the call had changed. What began as a suspected break-in became a smoke-filled rescue, and the officers forced two doors to reach the person inside before firefighters brought the flames under control.
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