PENNDEL, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The Penndel police officer who ran through a raging house fire to get the eight residents out on Thursday is now helping them get back on their feet.
Officer Sean Peck walked out of the Penndel police building before 5 a.m. Thursday to continue his regular patrol. But it would be far from routine after that.
“I observed this massive flame coming from this house across the street. And I heard some loud banging as well,” he recalled.
That was neighbor Justin Ritorto, knocking on the door to wake the people up. Peck ran over, and a woman let him in. He then scrambled to wake up the other seven people inside and get them out.
“With the smoke conditions, the fire. There was definitely a sense that if we don’t get out of here within 60 seconds, two minutes, we’re gonna get seriously hurt at the very least,” he said.
Everyone got out, and no one was hurt, but the fire destroyed their home and everything they had. That’s why Peck started a GoFundMe. More than $4,500 has been raised so far.
“Some of these people came out with just a blanket on. Imagine if you had nothing but a sheet covering your body,” he said.
Peck is being called a hero. He appreciates that, but said he was just in the right place at the right time and any first responder would do the same thing he did.
Peck was an Army Ranger and a Philly police officer before he joined Penndel two and a half years ago. His inspiration? The first responders on 9/11.
“They didn’t care about their own lives. They just wanted to protect other people, and I always thought if I could carry on that tradition and be 1% of the caliber of those people, then that would be a life worth living.”