The baby and her mother were struggling to escape after a fire broke out in the Isles at East Millenia complex, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Deputies responded to the scene shortly before 4:15 a.m. and found the mother and baby on a third-floor balcony with flames coming from the apartment, the press release said.
MP William Puzhinsky went up to the balcony on the second floor, grabbed the baby from her mother and lowered her to other deputies on the ground, the video shows.
“Just before climbing up the building, Deputy Puzhinski took off his heavy outer ballistic vest – to which his camera was attached – to make it easier for him to climb. “An amazing twist of fate is that the camera was able to capture what happened next,” the statement said.
“When I arrived here, we saw the building completely engulfed. There was chaos everywhere,” Puzinski told CNN’s WKMG affiliate. After handing over the baby to her partners, Puzinsk was also helped, he told the publication.
“Later, when my mother came and found me, she actually hugged me, so it was rewarding,” he said. “It feels different. Some nights you go home and you don’t really know if you’ve made a difference, but in situations like this you feel it.”
The baby’s mother and grandmother were rescued using a ladder, the sheriff’s office said. There are no reports of casualties and no lawmakers injured in the blaze, officials said.
CNN’s Aya Elamrusi contributed to this report.
Add Comment