California deputy is hailed a hero after he runs into a burning home to save a child

TULARE COUNTY, California -- A California sheriff's deputy is being lauded as a hero after rescuing a child from a burning home.

On Tuesday, Tulare County Deputy Alfredo Flores was just ending his shift when he got a call about a house fire in Orosi.

The dramatic rescue, part of which was captured in body camera footage, shows Flores after he entered the burning home and saved a 12-year-old boy.

The boy has Down syndrome and is non-verbal, his family told our Fresno ABC affiliate KFSN.

His brother, Alejandro Fajardo, had tried rescuing his brother himself, but was unable to get to him.

"About six, seven times I couldn't get him, I couldn't reach him," the boy's brother, Alejandro Fajardo, said. "The smoke was really up and I tried crawling to him, just yelling his name."

Flores ran into the home three times -- having to leave the smoke-filled residence and go back outside twice -- before he was able to get the child out.

"I don't think I lasted a minute in there to be honest, due to all the smoke I was inhaling," Flores told KFSN. "I was running out of oxygen, so I immediately run back outside and tried to get more oxygen and I immediately run back inside."

On his third try, Flores heard the child yelling from a back bedroom.

"I just immediately run towards that voice, and I open that door, and sure enough, I see the kid standing there," Flores said.

The boy was found conscious and breathing, according to the sheriff's department.

In body camera footage, Fajardo is seen weeping at the sight of his brother being carried to safety.

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux praised Flores' efforts in saving the boy.

"This was very heroic," Boudreaux told KFSN.

When he told Flores he was proud of him, Boudreaux said Flores said he was just doing his job.

"And he really meant it," Boudreaux said. "He's just a humble guy, and we're just incredibly proud of him."