See it: Ridgefield Park, N.J. police rescue man from burning car
RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. -- A dramatic rescue of a man pulled from a car fire in Bergen County was captured on video.
Police officers in a Bergen County village risked their own lives to pull a man from a burning vehicle.
Those officers were faced with intense heat, smoke and broken glass, but they managed to get the man out of that burning car just in time.
The harrowing rescue was captured by police body cameras. It was around 2 a.m. Saturday on Winant Avenue in Ridgefield Park.
Officers found a Honda with flames shooting out the front. A 55-year-old Fort Lee man was trapped inside due to an electrical issue with the vehicle.
Several officers tried desperately to pull him from the passenger side window. Just as flames overtook the vehicle, they pulled him clear.
CBS2's Nick Caloway met with the three police officers who saved the man's life.
"As soon as we took him out, those flames overtook the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and it would have just been one second too late if we had done anything less than we did," Ridgefield Park Police Sgt. Nicholas Triano said.
"We were not going to let him stay in that car. We just thought very quickly and we reacted quick," Ridgefield Park Police Patrolman Anthony D'elia said.
"In the moment, the only thing that's on my mind is getting him out of the car. We had to get him out. I was fortunate that I had my partners here with me that were able to successfully yank him out of that window," Ridgefield Park Police Patrolman Nicholas D'Alto said.
Remarkably, the man who was trapped inside that burning car suffered only minor injuries.
Officers also wanted to thank a good Samaritan who stopped to help save the man's life.