A woman is dead after being pulled from a house fire in Dade City that investigators are now calling suspicious.
The flames broke out Tuesday morning at a home on Southview Avenue near 14th Street. During a news conference, fire officials said a jogger smelled smoke and flagged down a Dade City patrol sergeant.
The officer responded to the scene and found dark, heavy smoke inside. He broke a window to look inside and saw someone on the floor.
Police say the officer then broke his way into the house through a door and dragged the woman to the front yard.
“We’re very proud of our officer for making that quick response,” said Brian Uppercue, lieutenant of administration for the police department. “First for finding the home so quickly and then for doing everything that he could to gain entry into the home.”
Paramedics were at the scene at that point and tried to save her life but the woman did not make it.
The woman’s identity has not been released yet but police believe she was renting the home. She was the only person inside at the time along with some animals. A cat and bird also died in the fire, according to police.
