NORWALK, Iowa — A Norwalk police officer is being praised after jumping into action during a recent overnight patrol shift.
Ofc. Jared Alcorn was out on his neighborhood patrol shift just before 4 a.m. Friday when he suddenly began to smell smoke. He investigated the source, thinking a controlled fire at that time of night was unusual.
What Alcorn found was not only unusual but also unexpected: the deck off the back of a home was engulfed in flames.
His quick thinking, however, allowed him to jump into action.
“I ran back to my fire extinguisher in the back of my car, and I ran to the front of their house and just started banging on the door," Alcorn said. "Then I took off toward the back."
Using his personal fire extinguisher, he attempted to put out the fire, but quickly realized the fire was moving towards the house.
He alerted the family inside once again, and told them to evacuate.
"My other officer arrived, and he asked where the garden hoses were," Alcorn added. "We both got on garden hoses and tried to control the fire until we could get the fire department there."
Thanks to his quick instincts, the fire was contained to the back deck and no one was injured.
The Norwalk Police Department praised Alcorn on their Facebook page, saying that his "keen observation skills helped to prevent a much bigger disaster from occurring."