Officer Austin Miller
A Columbia Borough police officer is being credited with saving the lives of seven people, including an infant, after he evacuated them from a burning home Tuesday night.
Austin Miller, an 11-year veteran of the department, was on routine patrol around 11 p.m. when smoke drifted into his vehicle near 9th and Manor streets.
He got out to investigate but was unable to find the source of the smoke.
Miller then saw two men who yelled there was a fire. One of the men was on the phone. As he ran toward the men, he saw flames shooting from the rear of a home at 631 Manor St.
Miller said he banged on the door of the house and quickly evacuated the occupants — including a woman holding a baby — none of whom knew the home was on fire.
Seeing that the flames were moving toward a neighboring home, he entered the unlocked structure and roused two people sleeping there.
The occupants of both homes were uninjured. One man was checked at the scene for smoke inhalation but didn't require hospitalization, officials said.
"Things couldn't have ended any better. Everyone got out alive," Miller said Wednesday.
Columbia Borough police Chief Jack Brommer on Wednesday called Miller's actions "heroic."
Columbia Borough Fire Chief Scott Ryno said there were no working smoke detectors in the home where the blaze started.
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