A deputy in Florida scaled an apartment building to save a one-year-old girl from a fire on Saturday, and citizens are praising his bravery.
The baby and her mother were trapped when the fire started at the Isles at East Millenia, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release, according to ABC 7.
When deputies arrived at the scene early that morning, they saw the mother and her child on the third-floor balcony.
“Due to the imminent danger, Deputy William Puzynski began to climb the outside balconies in order to get to the baby on the third floor,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
Bodycam footage caught the moment the baby screamed in terror as smoke filled the sky and the deputy climbed closer to her. Moments later, a flashlight shone on the deputy as he took the little one into his arms:
She held on tightly while he jumped down to the balcony below, then handed her to fellow first responders.
“Grab this baby,” he told them before they whisked her away to safety.
Firefighters brought the mother and grandmother down using a ladder, the sheriff’s office said, noting there were no casualties and no deputies were hurt.
“Just before climbing up the building, Deputy Puzynski took off his outer ballistic vest, which his camera is attached to. It’s an amazing twist of fate that the camera was able to capture what happened next,” the agency wrote.
The moment he arrived at the scene, everything was chaotic, Puzynski said.
“Afterwards when the mom came and found me, she actually gave me a hug, so it was rewarding,” he recalled, adding, “It’s a different feeling. Some nights you go home, and you don’t really know if you’ve made a difference, but in situations like this, you feel it.”
Social media users expressed their thanks to the deputy for his actions, one person writing, “They say there are angels all around us. Deputy Puzynski is definitely one of them. Great job and thank you for being there when we need you.”
“No hesitation!! Amazing,” another commented.