Harrowing bodycam footage shows a good Samaritan and first responders in Mesa, Arizona, saving two small children from a potentially-deadly apartment fire just in the nick of time.
After police officers smashed a window with a rock, an unknown hero climbed up to the window and bravely whisked the kids — ages 2 and 6 — away from danger, bringing them down to safety, KNXV-TV reported.
The man’s efforts are being credited with potentially preventing a very different — and far more tragic — outcome. The Mesa Police Department said in a statement the hero “put his life on the line for these children.”
Officer Jon Forrest held little back in heaping praise upon the man.
“He yelled out and said to me, ‘Hey, there’s someone else in there.’ And I said, ‘Can you grab that person and bring that little girl out to safety?’ And he did,” Forrest said, according to AZ Family. “There’s so much smoke in there that, if you pass out, it could be deadly, obviously.”
He continued, “For that civilian to be so courageous, jump up there, he saved two kids’ lives today.”
Watch the incredible rescue:
Forrest also praised his fellow cops for willing to risk their wellbeing to save others.
“Property and stuff, that can burn, but somebody’s life? We will risk a lot to save,” Forrest said. “Every other officer I work with, they’d do the same thing. They’d jump up on the shed. They are willing to do what they can to save someone’s life.”
Cops said the situation was “intense,” but the children and four officers taken to the hospital after the rescue are expected to recover. Four apartments were damaged in the blaze.
Watch the full bodycam video (caution: language):
The mystery hero at the center of the story reportedly wished not to be identified. He was reportedly getting his car washed nearby when the fire unfolded and he abandoned his vehicle to rush to the rescue. Bravo!
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