Clear Lake firefighter rescues couple from burning home

     Little did Jared Dilley know that after six months on the Clear Lake Fire Department he’d be involved in rescuing two people from a house fire.

     Jared’s father, Steve, is a member of the Arlington Fire Department so Jared grew up around the fire station.

     “My boss in Clear Lake is a member of the fire department, so he encouraged me to join,” Jared, who works in construction, said.

     In early February, Jared had been sick for a week with pneumonia when the pager went off at about 1 a.m. on Feb. 9.

     “I didn’t clearly hear it at first and I didn’t hear the address. I didn’t feel good and wondered if I should go. Then I heard them say there were people trapped inside and I decided I better go,” Jared said.

     As he went outside to get into his Jeep to head to the fire station, he heard some screaming but brushed it off as someone partying or arguing. But when he continued to hear the screaming while inside his vehicle, he decided to look around.

     “I could see arms waving out of a second story window just two houses away from my place,” Jared said.

     He drove over to the nearby house and saw the first floor was engulfed in flames.

     “I knew there was no way I could get inside without my gear. I told the couple they were going to have to jump and that I would catch them. There was no other way,” Dilley said.

     He convinced the female to crawl out the window and jump.

     “We both fell on our sides. I got her into the Jeep and then went back to help the guy,” Dilley said.

     The guy was already hanging by his fingers out the window, but his legs were swinging and had broken out a window below. There was a big piece of glass that would’ve cut him, so Dilley pushed his legs away as he jumped and he landed on Jared’s shoulder, avoiding the sharp glass.

     A pair of dogs belonging to the couple were running around and they got them to the Jeep. That’s when she asked about getting her cat out of the house.

     “By that time there was no way to get in the front door,” Jared said.

     The Sheriff arrived on the scene and Jared helped him evacuate people on either side of the burning structure. The ambulance and fire trucks quickly arrived.

     While the ambulance took the couple to the hospital, Jared still had their dogs in his Jeep. Contact was made with a relative and she took the dogs. Jared also sent some clothing from him and his wife for the couple who had just lost everything in the fire.

     Jared ended up going to the fire station and getting his gear and helping at the fire. Later he heard a helicopter go over and his heart sunk.

     “I knew the helicopter had to be coming for them. I started thinking how could I have done things differently. I was miserable,” Jared said.

     The next day he received a text message asking if he was the gentleman that helped the people out of the burning house.

     “He said that was me and my fiancé and we’d like to meet you,” Jared said. “That was a relief. I had been worried sick until then.”

     That evening Jared met Cody Verhey and Mandy.

     “I teared up when I met them. There weren’t any cuts or casts. To see them was a sense of relief,” Dilley said.

     “Looking back, it couldn’t have gone any smoother. They just had minor scratches and no serious injuries,” Dilley said.

     Dilley is thankful he was able to help.

     “In my short time on the fire department I had been involved in doing some traffic control at accidents, but this was my first legitimate house fire,” Dilley said.