Bodycam video: WA deputy evacuates 9 people from Auburn mobile home park fire
Hero deputy pulls family from burning home
A King County sheriff's sergeant is being hailed a hero after body camera video captured him rescuing a family from a burning Auburn mobile home that police say was intentionally set on fire.
AUBURN, Wash. - New bodycam video shows the moment a King County Sheriff’s sergeant jumped into action to save a family from a fire at a local mobile home park.
Sergeant rushes into smoke-filled home
What we know:
At 6:20 a.m. Saturday, April 25, Sgt. Robert Nishimura was driving through Auburn when he spotted a plume of thick black smoke rising above the trees.
He entered the Forest Villa Manor mobile home park to find a fire from a parked Quad Subaru spreading quickly to a covered porch next door, and a family in shock.
"So when I first pulled up, the family was obviously in shock. The daughter was screaming," Sgt. Nishimura said.
When he learned there was a 14-year-old boy still asleep inside the home, he quickly formed a plan.
"It's very tense, there's a lot of moving parts here, and so making good decisions is important," Nishimura said.
Sgt. Nishimura approaches a mobile home park fire with his fire extinguisher.
The sergeant wanted to slow the spread of the flames before they got too big, so he grabbed his fire extinguisher, but quickly realized it was going to be too big for him to handle alone.
"So I have to drop the fire extinguisher at some point, and then I move over to implement my plan," Nishimura said.
He followed the boy's father into the structure as flames pierced the walls and smoke began to fill the rooms.
"Dad had got the young man up just right in front of me. I could see shadows coming, so I turned around just in the event that there's carbon monoxide and I'd have to go in and retrieve both of them," Sgt. Nishimura said. "And mom had followed me in, so push mom out, exit, look back, and I make sure that dad and the juvenile had come out of the house."
Both the father and son made it out safely. He then turned his attention over to the neighboring unit, where the danger only intensified.
"I'm not getting any answer from what appears to be the main door. And at that point, a propane tank had the valve kicked off and it turned into a blowtorch after that," Nishimura said.
Luckily, he got everyone out: seven people, including three children. Sgt. Nishimura and two others suffered some smoke inhalation, but no one had to go to the hospital.
Sgt. Nishimura speaks with a family after evacuating them from a mobile home fire.
He's relieved everyone is safe, and says it might have ended much differently if he hadn't looked left at just the right time, spotting the smoke plume over the dark green trees.
"I don't have any explanations other than God put me in the right place at the right time," Nishimura said.
Arson investigation underway
What you can do:
Auburn Police determined that the cause was arson after somebody tried to start the quad, which then lit on fire. Anyone with information about who's responsible is asked to contact them at 253-288-2121.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the King County Sheriff's Office and original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.