PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A dramatic rescue was caught on camera as a couple in their 70s was saved from a house fire by four Plymouth Township police officers early Wednesday morning.
The couple’s condo caught fire around 1 a.m. and quickly filled with smoke. Police officers, who were first on the scene, wasted no time breaking through the door to get them to safety.
Watch body camera video of the rescue below:
"I've been in law enforcement 37 years and their actions, their heroic actions are some of the best I've ever seen,” Plymouth Township Police Chief James Knittel said.
Through body camera footage, Knittel watched the entire rescue starting with the first obstacle, the front door.
The sergeant on scene, a former college football player, broke through the door with his shoulder. Then the second and most dangerous obstacle was smoke pouring out.
"They were catching smoke in their face if you watch the body camera video," Knittel said. "They kept rotating who was going in.”
The four officers took turns going inside and shouting to the older couple but quickly confronted their third obstacle and learned there was a severe hoarding situation.
"There was a lot of clutter near the front door," Knittel said. "Made it very difficult for our first responders to get in.”
At one point, an officer drags a grandfather clock out of the doorway as they fight to get to the couple, with the man telling officers he had trouble walking.
"Crawl to me, crawl to me," one officer is heard yelling on the footage.
After dragging the man to safety, they knew his wife was still inside. Fighting smoke and clutter, they were able to get her out too.
Watch another angle of bodycam footage below:
“Seeing them work as a team and accomplish a goal like that, saving two of our citizens, I think is just fantastic,” Knittel said. "I was just blown away. These officers put their lives at risk for these residents — all four of them at different times.”
The chief isn’t alone in feeling thankful for their heroic efforts.
Neighbors like Karen Kraus watched it all unfold firsthand.
"Those firefighters, those police, boy, they worked really quickly, very fast. They knew what they were doing and did their job well,” Kraus said. "You just thank your lucky stars and thank the Lord everyone was safe.”
"When I was watching the body camera footage, it brought a tear to my eye," Knittel said. "We come to work every single day as police officers, we take an oath, raise our right hand, protect and serve. And for those officers to save those peoples lives, our residents, I couldn't be more proud.”
