EAST TAWAS (WWJ) - Three police and fire personnel in Iosco County pulled off a daring rescue Wednesday evening after they were able to save a woman trapped inside a home engulfed in flames.
East Tawas Police Department said on their social media that they received a report of a fully involved house fire with a possible victim trapped inside around 9:21 p.m. on July 20.
East Tawas Officer Wayne Snyder was the first to arrive on scene in less than a minute of dispatch, officials confirmed.
Snyder's body cam footage captured the intense rescue from the moment he pulled up to the home. The officer can be seen on camera grabbing a halligan bar from his patrol vehicle and gaining entry through the front door with the help of two other officers, identified as Tawas City Police Officers Branden Kirby and Ray Bruning.
The department said the three personnel teamed up to locate the victim as they battled intense heat and thick plumes of smoke. At one point, conditions forced the officers from the front entry of the home as Snyder can be heard saying "it's untenable in there."
The department said the officers quickly regrouped and gained entry through a side door – the footage then shows him crawling on the floor to find the resident.
Within moments, officers located the unconscious victim behind the side door and pulled her from the home – the entire rescue was conducted in less than four minutes after dispatch.
"Officers pulled the victim to safety and began patient assessment, CPR and AED lifesaving efforts," the department said on social media. "East Tawas Fire/Rescue personnel arrived on scene less than two minutes later joining the patient care and initiating full fire suppression and property protection operations."
Officials said the victim suffered extensive burns and smoke inhalation, but rescue crews were able to regain a heartbeat -- she was airlifted to Hurley Burn Center in Flint.
The victim's condition remains unknown at this time and authorities have not released their identity.
The three officers were treated for smoke inhalation and returned to duty.
Authorities said firefighters encountered the same heavy, black smoke that the officers did when they entered the first floor. Officials said they were able to attack the blaze from the inside and stop it from spreading further.
"The quick coordinated intervention of extensive resources prevented the complete loss of a home and gave the fire victim a fighting chance at life," said the department.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation with the East Tawas Fire Chief and the State Fire Investigator.
