Right place, right time: Working America canvasser saves woman from fire

Kari Chisholm

It's the silly season for campaigns, and along with all the political ads and fundraising demands comes one more thing: a bunch of eyes and ears on the street.

And sometimes that pays off in unexpected ways.

Michael Taeu, who is a canvasser for Working America, was on the street in Oregon City going door-to-door for Brent Barton's campaign in House District 40. He came upon a house that was on fire and had a fire alarm blaring.

The O's Everton Bailey has the story:

Taeu said the door was open, so he called out to see if anyone was home and heard a woman yell for help. He went into the smoke-filled home and discovered the woman on the second floor.

"I couldn't see her when I got upstairs because of all the smoke," said Taeu, who works with the Oregon branch of Working America. "So I asked her to call out to me a few times and was able to find her."

Flames had burned a couch, bird cage and some rugs, he said. The woman told him there was a garden hose on the balcony and that she remained in the home to find her bird, who was missing.

"At one point I had to tell her, 'you've got to forget about that bird and get out of this house,'" Taeu said.

He escorted her to the stairs and she left the home. Taeu then grabbed the hose, stayed on the balcony so he could see into the home and put out the flames.

Bravo, Michael. Bravo.

By Kari Chisholm Sept. 27, 2012