iStockphoto / Ajax9 / Sarasota Police Department
The Sarasota Police Department in released body camera footage showing officers rushing into a burning home to rescue two individuals engulfed by flames. It is a rare first-person view of the heroics exhibited by the men in blue each day across the country.
The already nightmarish situation worsened by the minute as energized power lines began to fall and transformers malfunctioned in the area, creating additional lethal hazards.
Sarasota Police Officers’ Daring Rescue From Burning House
The incident occurred on Friday around 10pm here in my hometown of Sarasota, Florida on the 2200 block of North Osprey Avenue, just north of downtown Sarasota. During the rescue, Sarasota officers were able to rescue a man and a woman from the billowing flames while sustaining minor injuries.
The Sarasota officers’ body cameras were activated during the rescue call. Afterward, SPD released the video to give the public a sense of just how dangerous of a situation this was.
Here is that video shared by the SPD with a follow-up from one of the officers below:
After the video went viral, Sarasota Police Department Officers spoke with 10 Tampa Bay News about the ordeal. One officer remarked that “running in there, I know they had my back” referring to his fellow officers on the scene and the fire department.
Another of the officers said “there was a moment where I was like ‘let’s just take this chance and what’s the best way to get out of there quickly?’ because I’ve got myself, everyone else, and those guys look out for me and I gotta look out for them, including the citizens. So that was where the moment came… just pick her up and let’s go.”
Police say everyone involved was lucky that nobody died. The downed energized power lines created a potentially lethal threat to all in the area. One individual suffered burns on her face. Two suffered minor injuries. But overall, it sounds like the officers arrived and got out at the perfect time.
SPD officer Anthony Zapone said he was able to respond be “he was close” but says any other officer in the Sarasota Police Department would have done the same in his shoes and rushed into that home to save the individuals from the flames.
Here in Sarasota we are currently under extreme drought conditions. Lawns are only able to be watered once a week. There is no end in sight to this drought at the moment. Even the tiniest sparks can fuel flames in these conditions.