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Police praise officers and volunteer firefighters after Pine Ridge apartment rescue
Summary
The city police chief described a rapid response to a Pine Ridge Apartments fire in which officers and volunteer firefighters rescued two children and their father; the children were hospitalized and expected to recover while the father's condition remained serious.
The Port St. Joe police chief gave a detailed account of a fast-moving apartment fire at Pine Ridge Apartments that unfolded the previous weekend, commending officers and volunteer firefighters for life-saving actions.
In an update to the City Commission, the chief said officers responded after a dispatch about a house fire and that Officer Kesterson entered the smoke-filled apartment but could not break the new impact windows. "He beat on it with a flashlight... later beat it with an ax and could just could not get in the windows," the Police Chief said, describing repeated attempts to reach occupants. Firefighters arrived about four to five minutes later, donned their gear and entered the building.
Firefighters located and pulled a father and a 10-year-old child from inside; two children had already been placed into ambulances. The chief said crews worked quickly to remove the father, who was unconscious in a hallway, and that both children were alert and expected to recover. "Both the children are expected to make a full recovery," the chief said; he added that the father's condition had not improved by the time of the update and the family remained in the hospital.
The chief described the scene as intense and praised the actions of officers who entered through smoke and firefighters who carried victims to safety. He also noted the difficulty of breaking modern impact windows and the physical toll on first responders during the rescue.
Mayor (speaker 1) and commissioners thanked the police and volunteer fire departments and said they intend to invite the crews to a future meeting for formal recognition. The chief said he was working with staff to identify the resident who assisted at the scene and that the department was staying in touch with the family.
The chief's account highlighted the coordination challenges for small agencies when ambulances are delayed; dispatch had advised that the next ambulance was roughly 45 minutes away while local responders managed immediate care and transport.
The commission did not take further action at the meeting but expressed unanimous appreciation for the responders' efforts and asked staff to coordinate a recognition at an upcoming meeting.
