A Ketchikan woman and her baby are alive after the quick response of two state troopers saved them from a house fire.

At around 10 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5 Ketchikan emergency dispatchers got a call from a woman who hung up after saying her address.

When troopers Jack LeBlanc and Zachary Huckstep arrived at her home they saw flames through the windows.

Inside they found thick smoke and 37-year-old Melissa Garrison of Ketchikan facedown and unconscious near the doorway.

LeBlanc and Huckstep pulled the woman from the house and extinguished the fire.

LeBlanc went next door to ask if anyone else might be home while Huckstep ventured back in to check, and found a sleeping baby in a bedroom, unharmed.

The child was

Zach Huckstep
released without injuries, Garrison was transported to Seattle for additional treatment and Trooper Huckstep was treated for minor smoke inhalation and released.

The fire appeared to be caused by blankets and pillows near a fireplace that caught fire.

When Garrison attempted to put out the fire, she was overcome with smoke and passed out after calling 911 and staying on the phone long enough to state her address.

Alaska State Troopers said in a release that the incident was a "perfect example" of why troopers respond to hang-up and suspicious 911 calls.

To contact the Newsroom, call 907-274-1111.

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