SOUTHEY – Sometimes timing is everything, and RCMP two members of the Southey detachment found themselves in just such a situation one late November morning. Just before 5 a.m. on that fateful day, the detachment received a call for a well-being check on a residence in their service area.
All seemed ordinary to Constables Brandyn McCartney and Jacob Jungheim as they knocked on the door, noting several lights inside the home were on.
“Initially what was strange when we went to the residence was an ‘off' smell, like burnt toast,” recalls McCartney, “but there was nothing emitting from the residence that would indicate a full-on blaze.”
The two officers then investigated the outside of the home when they noticed something was definitely not right.
“Upon doing a walk around the residence to see if anyone was inside, we noticed an odd haze or fog,” McCartney said. “At first it seemed like dirty windows, but upon a closer look we realized it was a house full of floor-to-ceiling smoke.”
The two officers decided they needed to come up with a plan of what to do next.
“In this instance - likely if you’re picking up on something, your partner is too - so it’s important to communicate these things,” McCartney said. “I smelled the burning, but didn’t think much of it until I spoke to Jacob about it, and he also smelled it. Once we both noticed the smoke, we communicated a game plan as to who was checking what door to gain access.”
With all the smoke discovered in the home, the officers had to work fast, but the doors and windows were all locked.
Fortunately, Jungheim was able to find a set of keys outside the home.
“I first banged on the doors and windows trying to get someone to answer, but I did not hear anyone inside,” he said. “I then tried the set of keys in the back door, but the keys did not match up with the lock. I then went around to the front and tried to unlock the front door with success.”
The two men tried calling out to whoever was inside, but there was no answer, so McCartney entered the smoke-filled house to try and find the woman who lived there.
“I didn’t see her at first,” McCartney said. “The female was hidden under a layer of blankets that obscured any human shape. I grabbed the blankets quickly and felt a leg, so I threw the blanket off and found her laying there.”
Given the circumstances, McCartney thought the worst of the woman’s condition.
“My initial thought at this point was that she was deceased, as I could barely breathe and I had only been in the residence for a moment,” he said. “I shook her and was able to get a response.”
That’s when Jungheim joined his partner in the home.
“When I heard Cst. McCartney say there was someone inside the house, that’s when I rushed in without hesitation to try to extract her,” he said. “My immediate reaction was to get them out as soon as possible. I could see someone laying on the bed with a blanket over them. I just knew I had to get her out of the smoke that was in the house – it was my main priority at that moment.”
The men then carried the woman outside to fresh air. She was confused, not aware that her house had filled with smoke, and not dressed for the cold weather. The officers then took her to a neighbour’s home to warm up and meet with EMS to make sure she was alright.
Jungheim remained on scene while the fire department arrived, and fortunately a fire was not present in the residence. The smoke had dissipated from the home, and firefighters were able to determine the source of the smoke after discovering burnt food inside a microwave.
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