By Heather Morrison
masslive.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — As most of Springfield slept on Monday, one building full of residents was suddenly awoken with the sounds of fire alarms and the smell of smoke.
“In here, in here,” one person can be heard yelling.
“Get out,” an officer responds as he runs in the person’s direction. “Get out!”
Body cam footage shared by the Springfield Police Department shows officers responding to a fire at a multi-unit building on the 200 block of Fort Pleasant Avenue on Dec. 13. The footage gives an inside look at what it’s like to clear a burning building, including rescuing residents, desperately knocking on doors and saving a dog.
At one point in the video, a man can be heard pleading that he needs to get his dogs first. Officers return to the apartment and help the man catch his two dogs.
The officer has to follow the dog through part of the apartment before he is able to scoop him up.
“Let’s go,” he yells once the dog is secured.
Footage of the flames coming out of the building can also been seen.
“I am very proud of these officers who demonstrated their professionalism, courage and dedication to duty by diligently entering and checking units to ensure residents were out of the building,” said Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood. “These are situations where instincts take over and the officers did not hesitate to enter a burning building, putting their own lives at risk, and were able to lead several residents out of the building.”
The officers involved were Carlos Ortiz, Luis Rojas, Michael Cruz, Gustavo Olivo, Jomaris Vazquez, Jeremy Rivas, Thomas Normoyle and Thomas Meleady, the Springfield Police Department said.
“What an amazing job our brave and dedicated men and women of the Springfield Police Department do, day in and day out. I am very happy to hear that everyone was able to get out of the building,” said Mayor Domenic Sarno. “These officers went above and beyond to serve and protect and I have no doubts that their actions that early morning saved lives.”
The Springfield Fire Department then arrived on scene and extinguished the fire, according to the statement. Police said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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