Deputy Helps As 3 Escape Intense Sunday Fire in Buford

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Three people escaped injury -- including one who was reportedly rescued by an off-duty deputy -- in a Sunday afternoon house fire in Buford.

The fire was reported shortly before 5 p.m. at 176 Westbrook Street, where an off-duty Gwinnett County Sheriff’s deputy used an extension ladder to help a female occupant off the back deck before fire crews arrived, Gwinnett Fire spokesman Lt. Jerrod Barrett said in an email.

She was safe and away from the house when firefighters arrived at 4:57 p.m., Barrett said.

The intense fire caused the second floor to collapse onto the second floor and forced crews to fight the blaze from the exterior. The home -- a two-story structure on a basement -- was a total loss. The fire did not affect any surrounding houses.

Barrett said the homeowner called 911 around 4:52 p.m., reporting a fire on the front porch. Three people were in the house when the fire broke out.

According to Barrett, the father of the home told officials he was unable to exit through the front door so he went through a back door. He said he jumped from the back porch to try and extinguish the fire with a garden hose, but the fire had already reached the roof.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

The family was displaced by the fire and was being assisted by the American Red Cross, Barrett said.

Photo; Handout from neighbor; Gwinnett Fire PIO