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Conway Officer Saves Family From House Fire

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Dec 26, 2008 5:59 pm US/Eastern

Conway Officer Saves Family From House Fire

CONWAY (KDKA) ― Four people are alive after a Conway police officer got them out of their burning home on Christmas Eve.

When 1621 First Avenue in Conway started to burn Christmas Eve morning, no one inside had a clue.

"There was no smoke in the rooms … nothing was on fire in the rooms," says Penelope Metzger, who was rescued from the fire.

Conway police officer Shawn Fleming was on patrol when he just happened to see some smoke at 12:30 a.m. and decided to check it out.

"At the gutter line you could actually see the orange of the flames," Fleming said.

Rushing to the door, the veteran cop tried his best to get someone's attention inside.

"It was God's blessing he did that or we would have on been gone," Metzger said.

Penelope Metzger's sister finally answered the door, Fleming made it plain.

" 'Ma'am your house is on fire. We got to get you out of here,' " he recalled.

There were four people in the house and two dogs. As the fire began to consume the top of the home, there was a mad scramble to get out. Everyone made it out.

"They would have been in trouble," says Lt. William Giska, a volunteer firefighter in Conway. "If anyone would have been in those bedrooms, they would have been in trouble."

Lt. Bill Giska and his crew had to put out the fire. He's still stunned over what happened and how well it turned out.

"I've never run across one like that before - I hope I never run across one like that again," he said. "We could have had a very serious tragedy."

The home is a total loss but that's all that's gone, all thanks to a cop who's not only on the ball, but has a lot of guts too.

"He saved their lives. He's a hero," Giska said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation but it's not believed to be suspicious. The residents had renter's insurance and are staying with family.

Meanwhile, Fleming says he's looking forward to a couple days off. 

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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