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Heart-Stopping Moment Hero Officer Runs Into Burning Home To Save Trapped Resident In Wheelchair

June 26, 2024

Today's good news story comes from Evesham Township, New Jersey.

A New Jersey police officer has been recognized for his heroic efforts after bravely rescuing a resident from a burning home during a dramatic fire incident in Evesham Township.

Newly released body-worn camera footage shows the officer saving the man's life.

Evesham Township Police (NJ)

Officer Kevin Long of the Evesham Police Department was the first to arrive at the scene following the emergency call.

"I got smokey conditions!" he shouted as he sprinted toward the house.

Officer Long encountered a woman at the front door.

"You alright?" Long yells in the video.

"I can't get my husband out!" the woman responded. Her husband relies on a wheelchair, and she was unable to move him.

"The further you proceeded into the house, the more smoke. It was pitch black, you couldn't see anything," Long told the local news station. He said it was nearly impossible to see or breathe, but he could hear the man yelling inside.

"I can't see anything!" Long yells in the video. "Where you at?"

Finally, the officer's flashlight shows the man sitting in a chair.

Long first moved the man's wheelchair out of the hallway, coughing as he pulled out the chair.

He then went back in and pulled him out, and then Long collapsed on the ground.

Two occupants, both in their 70s, were transported to area hospitals with what was determined to be non-life-threatening injuries. Officer Long suffered smoke inhalation and was transported to the hospital for further evaluation and released shortly thereafter.

"He saved the guy's life," said Scott Freedman, deputy fire chief and fire marshal for Evesham Township. "That man is very lucky that Kevin was there and was able to make the right decisions."

On June 24, Officer Long was presented a commendation for his actions.

Watch the police bodycam video below.