SHREVEPORT, La. — Two police officers rushed into a burning rooming house Thursday and rescued eight people, including four children and a crippled adult confined to a wheelchair.
One of the officers, Merle Thomas, went into the burning house despite his admitted fear of fire.
"I'm surprised I went in," he said. "When they said there were kids in there, that really affected me."
Patrolman J. J. Roberts discovered the two-story house on fire about 1:30 a.m. He radioed for help and he and Thomas picked their way through dense smoke to pull the sleeping occupants from their bedrooms.
