To protect and serve took on a whole new meaning for two officers in the San Francisco Bay Area last weekend.
Authorities in Milpitas posted video of a rescue of a family from a burning apartment building, in which a toddler and a dog were thrown off a balcony to waiting police officers below.
According to the Milpitas Police Department, dispatchers received a call around 3:15 p.m. Saturday from residents who were trapped inside their apartment on South Park Victoria Drive.
Two officers arrived on scene in less than two minutes and found the doors to the apartments were blocked by heavy fire.
“I just looked up the hallway,” Officer Trevon Hartley with the Milpitas Police Department said. “There was a small hallway leading up to the 2nd floor. The door was fully engulfed in flames. Just smoke everywhere.”
Officer Trevon Hartley was the first on the scene, getting there in just about a minute and a half since the initial call came in. Fellow officer Ricardo Barragan wasn’t far behind.
“Getting there, you can feel the heat,” Barragan said. “You can see the smoke even more. Just going towards the building, you can see obviously, OK, we need to do something now because if we don’t, something bad can happen.”
As the fire grew, the officers worked on a plan to rescue the family, who were on the balcony. They were told there were three people trapped in the apartment, including a 3-year-old toddler.
Milpitas police said the officers guided the parents through the rescue, telling them to drop their 3-year-old daughter to officers waiting on the ground.
“I got her, I got her. Drop her,” one of the officers was heard saying in a video posted by police.
The video then shows the girl being caught by an officer and taken to safety.
“I’m a father myself, so that’s why I was pretty focused on the child first,” Hartley said. “So, looking back on it, it makes you nervous. I’m just glad it worked out well.”
Hartley didn’t even have time to think. He just knew he had to get the child off the balcony. The former wide receiver for the San Jose Spartans made the most valuable play of his career.
“When we first got there, I didn’t hesitate because, in the moment, I was sure of myself,” he said. “Like, if you drop this kid, I’m going to catch her. It wasn’t even a thought or contemplation of what should I do. It was just drop her and catch her.”
After making the heroic save, both officers weren’t quite prepared for what happened next.
“I didn’t even know there was a dog,” Hartley and Barragan said. “Right after we caught the daughter, they instantly put the dog up. I was like oh, there’s a dog now. Here’s my dog here’s my dog.”
Hartley and Barragan were both raised in Milpitas. Hartley lived in the same apartment complex where the fire happened. These hometown heroes are expected to be recognized by the city for their bravery. Both shy away from being called heroes. They just did what had to be done to save lives.
“It’s strange to see yourself in that situation,” Hartley said. “There’s a lot of stuff that I don’t even remember doing, and to see some of the situations where it was scarier than I thought it was. In the moment, I’m not thinking this fire is right next to me, but to see it on video, it makes it more real.”
Firefighters arrived and were able to evacuate the remaining occupants of the apartment, police said. No serious injuries were reported.
“We are incredibly thankful for the calm and courage shown by the residents during such a terrifying moment, and for the seamless teamwork between our dispatchers, officers, and fire personnel,” police said in a statement Tuesday.
Tim Fang
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