Update: 3 Rescued from Burning Home; 7 Injured

By Bay City News Service

Seven people, including two firefighters and two police officers, were injured in an early morning blaze at a home in Fremont today.

The two-alarm fire was reported around 4:30 a.m. at a one-story home in the 38600 block of Farwell Drive.

Three residents were initially trapped in the burning home, but with the help of police and firefighters, all three got out.

Fremont fire Capt. Daniel Cardenas said police pulled a patrol car under a bedroom window where the three residents, two men and a woman, were trapped.

One victim was able to open the window and get onto the hood of the patrol vehicle, and firefighters then used the surface as a raised platform from which to get into the bedroom.

Inside the room, firefighters found an unconscious man and woman, Cardenas said.

The two were pulled from the house, and all three were hospitalized. Cardenas said he did not know the extent of their injuries.

Two firefighters were transported to a hospital with burns that were not life-threatening. One firefighter has since been released, Cardenas said.

The two officers were taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. They have both been released, police said.

Cardenas praised the police effort, noting that they "assisted us" and "they put their lives at risk."

Firefighters were unable to enter the home through the front door because it was secured by a security grille and a double deadbolt.

"We understand the need for security," Cardenas said, but he noted that in this case it "hampered getting into the house."

The roof collapsed in the fire, and the home was gutted, Cardenas said.

The fire was called under control around 6 a.m., Cardenas said. The cause remains under investigation.

Fire crews remained at the scene late this morning, and Farwell Drive was expected to remain closed between Waller and Troy avenues until about noon.

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