ARCADIA : Officers Smell Smoke, Rescue Five From Home

Five disoriented people were led out of a burning home in Arcadia early Tuesday by two sheriff’s deputies and a local police officer.

Deputies Don Lopez, 33, and Jose Zarate, 34, and Arcadia Officer Sean Kelley, 27, had stopped a motorist at Foothill Boulevard and Baldwin Avenue at 1:58 a.m. when they smelled smoke. They traced it to a house in the 700 block of Katherine Lane, where the front door was open. However, two adults and three teen-agers were still inside and the officers led them to safety. Their names were not released.

Flames engulfed the wood-shingle roof, but the blaze was brought under control within 20 minutes by 18 Arcadia firefighters. Arcadia Fire Department investigators believe that an electrical malfunction in the attic caused the fire, which resulted in $175,000 in damage.