California deputy saves 12-year-old child with Down syndrome from burning home

A California sheriff’s deputy is being lauded as a hero after rescuing a child from a burning home.

On Tuesday, Tulare County Deputy Alfredo Flores was just ending his shift when he got a call about a house fire in Orosi.

The dramatic rescue, part of which was captured in body camera footage, shows Flores after he entered the burning home and saved a 12-year-old boy.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2jxwF3_0vlDSwzw00
KFSN – PHOTO: Tulare County Deputy Alfredo Flores speaks to KFSN after he rescued a child in a house fire.

The boy has Down syndrome and is non-verbal, his family told Fresno ABC affiliate KFSN .

His brother, Alejandro Fajardo, had tried rescuing his brother himself, but was unable to get to him.

“About six, seven times I couldn’t get him, I couldn’t reach him,” the boy’s brother, Alejandro Fajardo, said. “The smoke was really up and I tried crawling to him, just yelling his name.”

MORE: Hero firefighter describes rescue of semitruck driver dangling from bridge

Flores ran into the home three times — having to leave the smoke-filled residence and go back outside twice — before he was able to get the child out.

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