FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. β Police and members of the community worked together to pull a man from a burning car in Fairfax County, and the whole thing was caught on camera. Fairfax County Police shared video of the incident on social media Friday.
According to police, officers responded to a call for service on June 15 just before 2:30 a.m. When they arrived near the intersection of Annandale Road and Gallows Road, they found a car had crashed and overturned.
Officers arrived to find the car engulfed in flames. Dash cam video shows the intensity of the flames when police first arrived. Neighbors at the crash scene grabbed fire extinguishers from the cruiser and worked with police to battle the blaze.
"To run towards a burning car, knowing that at any point, you might get burned or worse while trying to save the life of somebody that you donβt know itβs just absolutely heroic," said Fairfax County Police Lt. Daniel Spital, the Assistant Commander of the Mason District Station.
He says the two officers who pulled the man out, were the first ones to arrive on scene.
"They saw a car flipped on its side. They knew that there was somebody inside a vehicle. They used some quick thinking, and tried to extinguish the flames with the fire extinguishers. But, they also knew they had to get the gentleman out of the car, so they broke open the sunroof with the fire extinguishers, and then utilized a knife to cut his seatbelt off, and pulled him from the car through the sunroof to safety," said Lt. Spital.
He says they were able to pull the 27 year-old driver out of the car just before the flames entered the passenger compartment of the vehicle
"Just quick thinking, quick action by the officers save this manβs life and although he went to jail for driving while intoxicated, he is alive today because of those actions of those officers," said Lt. Spital.
He told WUSA9 the names of the two officers are not being released yet. He did share that the female officer has 9 years on the job, and the male officer has 3 years on the job.
The officers suffered from smoke inhalation and minor burns, but were expected to be OK.
"Great work by all. Please remember to drive safe and drive responsibly," the police department wrote on social media.
Police say the driver of the crashed car was found to be under the influence and arrested.