Orange County deputies rescue elderly residents from home after fire

Three Orange County sheriff’s deputies were treated for smoke inhalation Saturday, Nov. 30, after they rescued three elderly residents from a smoke-filled house in Mission Viejo, authorities said.

A fire in the kitchen broke out about 3 p.m. in a board-and-care home on Carrillo, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Tony Bommarito said. There were six residents and two employees inside, he said. One of them was able to put the fire out. But while the flames were confined to the kitchen, the smoke was not.

The deputies arrived before the Fire Department.

“It was unclear if everyone was out of the home until they heard screams coming from inside,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a Twitter message. “Deputies ran inside the smoke-filled home and rescued three elderly residents from their bedrooms.”

The deputies were treated outside the house and declined to be taken by ambulance to a hospital, but they eventually drove themselves there to be checked out, Bommarito said. They are expected to fully recover, the Sheriff’s Department said. None of the residents or employees was reported injured, Bommarito said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.