Bodycam video shows police saving unconscious man, dog from a Florida apartment fire
Florida police and firefighters saved several people and a dog from a house fire on Saturday night.
by Sheldon Fox
Nov 29, 2024
"When (they) thought that there was just no more hope, nothing else they could do, (they) decided to risk (their) life, go in there, find him," Lt. Eddie Rodriguez, of the Hialeah Police Department, said.
"In the dark in the smoke, finding him on the floor unconscious," Rodriguez said.
The man was unresponsive and had suffered from smoke inhalation.
"Right in front of the front door," Rodriguez said. "And started dragging him out."
Body camera footage shows Hialeah police at the doorway of the apartment at 460 East 23rd St., where the fire was raging.
"They're giving them CPR, they're able to find a pulse and then they pick them up. They tried to run them down three flights of stairs awaiting ambulance," Rodriguez said.
The man was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
"Thank God they saved his life," Rodriguez said.
Three others from the building were also injured and hospitalized.
"Those brave men and women, they run inside and they're able to find the man's dog," Rodriguez said.
The dog, a German Shepherd, was also treated for smoke inhalation and was seen recovering the next day.
A portable air conditioning unit may have caused the fire.