PORT RICHEY, Fla. — A 97-year-old woman was rescued by Pasco County deputies after a Thursday morning house fire.

  • Fire occurred Thursday in Port Richey
  • Deputy entered home, removed woman from danger
  • Another deputy put on the blaze with extinguisher

The fire happened in the 6600 block of Carnation Way in Port Richey.

Deputy Justin Ball was the first to enter the smoke-filled home.

Theresa Mitcka, 74, said her mother, Maria Logan, 97, was bedridden in her bedroom where the fire started.

Ball entered the room and tried to extinguish the fire but determined that he needed to remove Logan from danger and carried her from the residence.

Cpl. Jeffrey Brown also entered the residence and put out the fire with an extinguisher.

Mitcka said she would not have been able to get her mother out of the house alone.

"The person who came in, which I understand now is a deputy, I thought it was a fireman, really saved her life," she said.

Deputy Ball experienced smoke inhalation as a result of the incident and was transported to Bayonet Point Medical Center for treatment.

"Luckily my prognosis from the hospital is no permanent damage, no scar tissue, nothing like that," Ball said. "They gave me a breathing treatment with some steroids in it and I should be OK."

No other injuries were reported.

Mitcka said she is thankful for Ball's actions.

"I thank him from the bottom of my heart, and I'm sorry that he got some inhalation problems with it," she said. "And I hope that he'll be alright."

Cpl. Jeffrey Brown also commended the deputy.

"To me, Ball did absolutely save her life. He did a great job. He did exactly what he’s trained to do," Brown said.

The homeowner said the fire started from a night light that was covered with a pillow.