Two Connecticut police officers and a fire chief successfully evacuated a 90-year-old woman and her daughter from a burning home Tuesday.
At about 7:30 p.m., an Ansonia resident on Spring Street called 911 to report she was trapped in her burning home, according to WVIT.
The first two officers on the scene, Sgt. Ed Magera and Sgt. Alex Barriera, along with the Ansonia Assistant Fire Chief Anthony DeLucia, forced entry into the residence and evacuated both women.
Body camera footage obtained by WTNH shows the first responders kicking in the door and making their way through the smoke-filled house to a woman sitting at a table.
“The officers took her arms and her shoulders and I took her legs and we proceeded to carry her out,” DeLucia told WTIC.
“The mom (90 year old) was very frantic,” Magera said. “She was unable to walk. So, she had to be carried out of the residence.”
Three dogs also safely made it out of the home, said the fire chief of Derby, a town near Ansonia, WTNH reported. The chief added that the house was significantly damaged. Delucia said the flames grew to be 15-feet tall and started to reach the attic.
Both officers and one of the residents suffered from smoke inhalation and were treated at the scene, while the 90-year-old woman was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. She has been released, per WVIT.
“It was a very hectic and chaotic scene but something good came out of it,” a smiling Magera told WTIC.
Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti (R) presented Magera, Barriera, and DeLucia with Keys to the City on Wednesday, according to the town’s Facebook page.
“These brave men risked their own lives to keep our residents safe. They exemplify the best Ansonia has.” Cassetti said in the release.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but authorities say it does not appear to be suspicious. Sources told WTIC the fire started after a pizza box in the oven caught fire and was subsequently thrown outside the home. Soon after, the house was ablaze, the sources said.