VIDEO: Grass Valley Officers Kick Down Door, Save Man From Burning Home
GRASS VALLEY (CBS13) – Body camera video revealed the moment when officers stepped into action to save a man from a burning home in Grass Valley.
It incident happened last week. Officers were called to the home on East Empire Street for reports that a person was trapped inside.
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Officers first checked the front of the home and were met with nothing but smoke and flames.
"One of our officers, running out of options, checked on the other side door," Chief Alex Gammelgard, Grass Valley Police Department, said.
The Grass Valley Police Department told CBS13 the heroic officer was Officer Jonathan Brown.
Brown ran around looking for another access point - kicking down a back door and grabbing a man by the feet to pull him to safety.
"Luck would have it, upon looking inside with his flashlight below the smoke level, he was able to see what were the feet of a human being," Gammelgard said.
The man was unconscious due to smoke exposure. He is expected to recover, police say.
Neighbors say they applaud the officer's actions.
"It takes something inside you to take it to that level," Neil Stradinger, a neighbor, said.
"Thank God that officer, I don't know his name, but I thank him so much for going to the side door and finding Cory," Kathleen Stradinger said.
The chief is proud of how his officer acted but, knows this situation could have taken a turn for the worse.
"There's always that component where you're so thankful that things went right. Because otherwise, we'd be having a different conversation," Gammelgard said.
Watch the full video here.
