Cedar Hill Fire Protection District was dispatched on Feb. 2 to a residential fire with a rescue.
However, when Cedar Hill Fire showed up, the woman who had been trapped had already escaped through a window, with the help of a Jefferson County 911 dispatcher.
“She was out by the time we got there,” Cedar Hill Fire Chief Mick Fischer said. “The fire was right at the door they use to go in and out. That's why she couldn’t get out.”
He said the district received a call at 5:26 p.m. about the fire at 8668 Terri Hill Drive and arrived on the scene at 5:33 p.m.
Jefferson County 911 dispatcher Ashley Coats received the call at 5:24 p.m.
“That was intense,” she said. “Well, she called and she was in a panic. She stated that her front porch was on fire and she had animals in the house.”
Coats persuaded the woman to move away from the fire and to a window where she was able to jump out.
“I just kind of put myself in her shoes,” Coats said.
Coats started working at 911 Dispatch about two months ago and the Feb. 2 call was her first time to dispatch a fire.
Neighbors came over to help, and by the time Cedar Hill Fire arrived, the fire was mostly extinguished. Fischer said the fire was under control by 5:37 p.m.
There were two cats and two dogs in the home, and Fischer said he believes they were unharmed. The cause of the fire is unknown, but Fischer said he believes it could have been caused by a cigarette butt.
Fischer said the house had only exterior damage and the residents did not have to move out.