Thanksgiving dinner was over and Josh Droll went to bed and woke up at about 2:00 am on Saturday having difficulty breathing. He called 911.

Officer Hearn with the Milford Police Station responded to the 911 call coming from another call out at the rest stop on highway 77.

When asked what happened Officer Hearn explained, “Saturday after Thanksgiving at two o’clock in the morning we got a call to the residence. We (officer Hearn and two paramedics) went there and couldn’t get anyone to answer the door. We started looking through windows, noticed a young man (Josh Droll) laying on the floor inside the house, his cell phone was beside him.”

Officer Hearn and two paramedics went in through the back forcing the door open and noticed all the smoke coming out of the house.

Officer Hearn said, “We went ahead and notified the dispatcher and told them to get the fire department out here. We went inside and unlocked the front door and one of the paramedics and I went back in, grabbed Droll and pulled him out of the house.”

Droll was unconscious until the cold air hit him and the paramedics started attending to him.

Officer Hearn asked Droll if there was anyone else in the house, he said he did not know.

Hearn said, “I went back into the house and checked his bedroom again, living room, dining room, kitchen and one back bedroom until I could not take any more smoke. I got out of the house and the Italy fire department showed up. They cleared it out, made sure no one else was in the house and started their investigation.”

The paramedics took Droll to Baylor Hospital in Waxhahachie. The doctors were debating on whether to take him to Parkland Hospital and put him in the oxygen chamber because he had so much carbon monoxide in his system. It was decided to keep him at Baylor Hospital and he was released at noon on Sunday.

When asked what could have caused the fire, Droll said, “My closet light was left on and the energy efficient light bulb got so hot it melted the light fixture and fell on some clothes. It is now under investigation.”

Droll said, “I am just grateful that officer Hearn showed up and I am very grateful to be alive.”