La Loche men hailed as heroes after extinguishing fire, rescuing dog from RCMP officer's home
Alfie Piche says he never thought he'd find himself kicking down a police officer's front door.
"It's usually the other way around, isn't it?" Piche said with a laugh.
Piche and his uncle Ronnie Lemaigre are being hailed as heroes in their home of La Loche, Sask., after extinguishing a fire and rescuing a dog from the home of a local RCMP officer.
On May 26, Piche and Lemaigre were volunteering as security staff at the main doors of the Northern department store in La Loche, a town located approximately 600 kilometres from Saskatoon. They were helping customers sanitize their hands and instructing them to practise physical distancing in the store.
La Loche has had more COVID-19 cases than any other Saskatchewan community.
Piche said he and Lemaigre noticed flames and smoke in a window of the duplex across the street. They ran across the street and looked inside. The kitchen was on fire.
Piche ran to the attached residence and knocked on the door. They got an RCMP officer who lived there out and she joined them outside the other unit.
They heard a dog barking frantically inside, Piche said. They kicked down the front door and went in. Piche said the smoke was heavy, but their COVID-19 masks helped a bit.
Piche said they got the dog out, then put out the fire with an extinguisher from another nearby home before emergency services arrived.
"I'm a dog lover, so it felt good," Piche said.
RCMP spokesperson Rob King lauded Piche and Lemaigre for their actions. He said the RCMP officer was taking care of a friend's dog.
King said the officer had recently returned to the house with groceries.
"He put them on the stove because he was babysitting the dog and didn't want the dog to get the groceries," King said.
The officer turned the stove on by accident without noticing, then left before the groceries ignited.
King said the damage was limited to the kitchen and the front door and credited Piche and Lemaigre.
"It was definitely the two guys who noticed it, called it in and helped put out the fire," King said.
Piche said he and Lemaigre have been thanked by town residents and RCMP.
"I'm glad those guys were there to help," wrote one Facebook user.
Another called it "a heroic day for Alfie Piche [and] his Uncle Ronnie!"
Piche said he's glad they were able to help.
"I was in the right time in the right place."
