NYPD officers save woman from burning apartment in Queens
By: Harrowing video released by the NYPD shows officers responding to a serious apartment fire in Queens.
Police officers were alerted to the fire by a bystander and immediately jumped into action without backup or protective gear.
Officers tried kicking down the apartment door at the building on 95th Street and 37th Avenue on July 19 and were met by heavy smoke.
The door was blocked with bikes, trapping the woman inside.
Police locked arms as they entered the apartment, trying to see through the smoke.
They located the resident and quickly escorted her to safety, alerting others in the building to the danger until firefighters arrived.
NYPD got the call just before 11 p.m. that evening while they were on patrol nearby. A bystander flagged them down.
The officers didn't hesitate.
Body cameras captured the urgent response down the block and up several flights of stairs toward the flames.
Officers followed the trail of water from the sprinklers to the apartment on fire.
One officer grabbed a fire extinguisher to put out the fire in the living room.
They were thankful they were at the right place at the right time.
"My heart was beating, knew it had to do something. When the door first opened there was heat and water just coming out, that's how we knew we had to go inside," said Officer Devonte Morris, NYPD.
The woman refused medical attention and was able to return to her apartment.
Six of the eight officers who responded were treated for smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but not deemed suspicious.