The New Orleans Times-Picayune
SLIDELL, La. — Two Slidell police officers became volunteer firefighters Monday after a house caught fire near where the officers were monitoring traffic.
Officers Mario Arthur and Brad Hoopes were observing cars in the Lakewood subdivision after receiving numerous complaints about vehicles speeding in the neighborhood, Slidell Police Department spokesman Capt. Kevin Foltz said.
Around 4:50 p.m., the officers heard on their radios that the Slidell area fire department was being dispatched to a kitchen fire at 1532 Ridgecrest Drive, around the corner from where their cruisers were sitting.
The officers arrived at the smoke-filled home within moments, finding a woman and three children ranging in age from 2 to 11 standing outside the house, Foltz said.
Arthur and Hoopes made their way to the kitchen and put out the fire using extinguishers that are kept in their patrol cars, Foltz said. The fire department arrived moments later and ventilated the house.
According to police, it appeared that the fire started after a woman was cooking dinner on the stove. A damage estimate on the house was not available.
There were no injuries.
Copyright 2008 The New Orleans Times-Picayune