TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) – A California deputy is being hailed as a hero after rescuing a 12-year-old boy with Down syndrome who was trapped inside a burning home.
Tulare County Deputy Alfredo Flores was headed home Tuesday when the fire call came in. The 8-year veteran of the department says he immediately started driving toward the home where he would save a boy’s life.
Body camera footage captured a distraught Alejandro Fajardo guiding Flores to his burning mobile home, where his 12-year-old brother, Angel, was trapped by smoke after barricading himself in the bathroom. He begged the deputy to save his little brother, who has Down syndrome and is nonverbal.
Fajardo had tried to go into the house himself, even punching through a window and slicing his arm.
“About six, seven times, I couldn’t get him. I couldn’t reach him. The smoke was really up, and I tried crawling to him, just yelling his name,” Fajardo said.
Flores didn’t hesitate before running into the burning home.
“I don’t think I lasted a minute in there, to be honest, due to the smoke and all the smoke I was inhaling. I was running out of oxygen, so I immediately run back outside and tried to get more oxygen. And I immediately run back inside,” Flores said.
It took three tries and someone handing the deputy a wet cloth to shield his face before he could break through the smoke and get to Angel.
“Before I opened that door, I hear a yell, someone yelling. So, in my back of my head, I’m like, ‘That’s the kid… Keep screaming.’ I just immediately run towards that voice, and I open that door. Sure enough, I see the kid standing there with a lot of snot coming out of his nose and black tar coming out of his mouth and nose,” Flores said.
The rescue can’t be seen in the video, but Flores can be heard gasping for air as he rushes through the home. Then, an emotional Fajardo starts shouting as the deputy carries his brother out.
Fajardo says he would be lost without Angel, the brother he’s spent his life protecting, and he gives thanks to Flores and God.
“I’m just glad he sent angels to Angel to guide him out, and that’s all I could ask for,” Fajarado said.
Flores is not only being hailed as a hero by Angel’s family but also by his boss, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.
“This was very heroic. As I talked to him, I said, ‘Look, son, I’m very proud of you. This was an act of heroism.’ He said, ‘Sir, it’s just my job’ and he really meant it. He’s just a humble guy and just incredibly proud of him,” Boudreaux said.
For Flores, his hero is named Angel.
“I walked in there about two times. I don’t even think I made it one minute without going back and getting oxygen. I don’t know how long he was inside that room, but for me, he’s my hero,” the deputy said.
Following the incident, everyone is out of the hospital and back home, while Flores has returned to work, doing the job he says he’s called to do.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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