Oklahoma Cop Responds To House Fire, Finds His Own House Burning

An Oklahoma police officer responding to a house fire was shocked to see his own house on fire and his children trapped inside.

Anthony Louie of the Seminole Police Department heard his sons, aged 7 and 14, calling out for him as they scrambled to make it to safety. The 33-year-old officer stormed into the house which was filled with thick smoke.

"That’s when they saw Dad," Louie's wife Lureena told The Washington Post. "He was hollering and yelling for them. There was so much smoke they couldn’t see."

Louie had to skirt past the porch which was erupted in flames, suffering serious burns and smoke inhalation injuries, according to a Facebook post by Seminole FOP Lodge 138, the Fraternal Order of Police in the region.

"Officer Louie made entry into the residence and successfully rescued his family. Upon entering the residence he had to run through the flame-engulfed porch and in doing so sustained serious burns and smoke inhalation injuries."

His children were able to escape the fire without suffering physical injuries.

The Washington Post reported that Louie had to be intubated as he remained hospitalized for four days. He is currently breathing on his own, Lureena said.

Lureena said she was not at home at the time of the incident on Nov. 13. Other officers from the department drove to her job to inform her. "If it weren’t for them, I probably couldn’t have gone through this," Lureena told The Washington Post.

Many residents in the area have reached out to the department with offers of donation for Louie’s family. "The outpouring of support and love for Corporal Louie and his family from the citizens of Seminole and beyond has been amazing. We have received many requests for a way to send assistance for the family for clothing and household items that were lost," the Fraternal order wrote in a follow-up post.

It is not uncommon for cops to risk their own lives to save others. In July last year, a six-year-old Ohio boy was saved from a house fire by a police officer who was patrolling the neighborhood. The hero cop rummaged through the burning house for the boy after hearing him moan. The officer sustained injuries for smoke inhalation as he pulled out the unconscious boy.