First responders often work together to ensure a positive outcome. When it comes to fires, police officers are there to assist fire crews with securing the scene.

However, they will also step in and help ensure homes are clear of their residents.

Stony Point Fire

First thing Saturday morning, just before 8. a.m., crews received a call for a fire at a Stony Point home. When firefighters got to the scene, the home was consumed by flames.

Two police officers, John Ferrara and Vincent Agovino, were first to get to the home. Checking in with a neighbor on the way in, the officers were able to determine how many occupants the home had.

The neighbor also said he thought they all had escaped from the house. Both officers went down to the home to see where the family was. Agovino told Coffee or Die, the heat from the fire was "unbearable."

Finding the Family

Ferrara saw that the fire had jumped to the families car which was sitting in their driveway. The family was nearby, stuck in their location.

“They’re stuck — there’s nowhere for them to go because there’s an embankment with a drop-off."

Officer Ferrara

Ferrara called Agovino for help and the two officers went to work getting the family to safety. Their only option for escape was taking the family past three burning vehicles, plus a downed power line.

“The objective was clear once we had a visual of the children and the elderly grandmother. It was: We had to get these people away from this fire before something terrible happened because there was nowhere to go,” Ferrara said.

The officers knew they had to get the family out of there, and the quicker the better.

In Time...

As Ferrara and Agovino began moving the family to safety, Officer Billy Mari arrived. Mari stayed with the children ensuring they would not go near flames.

Once Ferrara got the family to safety, the gas tanks in the vehicles finally exploded under the pressure and heat. Firefighters were feverishly working to put out the flames.

Both the officers were uninjured and one of the children suffered a minor burn.

Jumping into Action

Officers are trained to assist in all circumstances. These officers made the families safety their priority, quite possibly saving their lives.