Heart-pounding police body camera footage captured the moment a brave officer broke down the door of a burning home to rescue a mother and her two young children.
Officer Rogers Acts Quickly
Officer Rogers was the first to arrive at the home in Hixson, Tennessee, on May 1 after authorities were called about a fire at a house on Cranberry Way just before 10 p.m., beating local firefighters, News Channel 9 reports. When he arrived, he saw flames from the front door and porch of the second-floor apartment and sprang into action.
Body camera footage showed the officer racing into the house as the fire burned down the door and confronting a young girl, who appeared to be running away in fear. "Hey come here, come here, you're OK," Rogers said as he scooped her up and carried her outside, where another police officer held onto her.
Rogers then ran back toward the still-burning apartment as the mother and her son frantically descended the stairs. He asked whether there was anybody left inside the residence. The mother, later identified as Rachel Blaylock, replied that it was just the three of them, after which the officer ran back down the stairs and grabbed a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze on the porch, apparently burning himself in the process.
Daring Rescue Captured on Video
Ring doorbell camera footage shared online also captured the moments before Rogers' daring rescue. It showed him barreling up the wooden staircase to the upstairs apartment with another officer in tow and trying to kick down the door as screaming could be heard coming from inside the residence. "Can you answer the door?" he called out. "Hey, y'all gotta get out of the house." Finally, he broke down the door and entered the apartment.
The Chattanooga Police Department said, "Police are not trained in firefighting, but they do take an oath to serve and protect. And that is exactly what Officer Rogers did," as it shared the body camera footage on Monday.
Mother Expresses Gratitude
Blaylock said Rogers' actions that night saved her, her four-year-old daughter Marlowe, and her 10-year-old son, Charles. "I keep thinking back, 'How am I going to get two kids down the stairs?'" she recounted to News Channel 9. "He just grabs her and he was willing to go back in. And I was trying to tell him that no one else was there, but he was going back up."
Neighbor Ebony Cox, who witnessed the daring rescue firsthand, also commended the police officer. "He was just a brave person to react like that," she said. "He could've got hurt, but he didn't care. He just kept on kicking the door." Cox told how she was getting ready for bed that night when she heard screaming from next door and saw the apartment building in flames. "I'm like, 'Please, please, somebody get her out,'" she remembered pleading.
Fire Extinguished, Family Receives Support
With Rogers' help, the massive blaze was extinguished after 20 minutes, the Chattanooga Fire Department confirmed to Fox News, noting that the Red Cross is now assisting the family who lost their home. An online fundraiser has also been set up to help the family replace essential items and raise money for temporary housing while the apartment is being repaired. Additionally, the friend who started the GoFundMe said she would 'ideally' like to raise money to 'help them move to a safer place where they can start fresh,' noting that the smoke alarm did not go off on the night of the fire and a neighbor had to call authorities to the scene.
The fundraiser, which netted more than $1,600 as of Tuesday morning, describes Blaylock as "the kind of person who always puts others first. She's the mom who brings snacks for every child at the park, the neighbor who checks in on you when you're having a tough day and the friend who gives her time and energy to help others, even when she has little left for herself. Now, she and her children are facing something no family should ever have to go through."
Blaylock said she is just grateful that both she and her children made it out alive and that Rogers didn't hesitate to act. "I tried to thank him that night and he's just shrugging it off like it's just another day at work - but that's my daughter," she said.
