ODESSA, TX (KWES) - Over the weekend, a tragic house fire in Odessa resulted in the death of a nine-month-old baby and the father seriously injured.
One Odessa officer showed true heroism when he was the first to arrive on scene.
Sgt. Jon Foust was on 8th Street and West Loop 338 when the call came in. He could see the flames from where he was and headed straight to the scene.
Prior to arriving, Foust was told by dispatchers that there was a baby inside the home.
When he arrived, neighbors told him the baby was still inside.
"Whenever we arrived, it was fully engulfed and the people there were telling me there was still a child inside and I had already made up my mind that I was going to do whatever I could to try and get it out," Sgt. Foust said.
In just minutes, the fire had spread so quickly, Sgt. Foust had trouble finding a way to get in the home.
"You could tell that it was full of smoke and I tried to get lower to where I could see under the smoke," Foust said. "Whenever I decided I was going to go in, I could see flames on the wall."
Sgt. Foust was sent to the hospital shortly after trying to rescue the baby and was treated for smoke inhalation.
He has since been released but is still dealing with the fire.
"I don't know if I can ever truly move on from it. It was the worst thing I've ever been on," said Foust.
He has now returned back to work.
"As far as coming back to work, any time I feel stressed out, I work with a great group of guys. I have some of the best friends on the planet that I work with here and they're supporting me."
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
