A father had to make the difficult decision to drop his toddler from a second-story window to first responders below as flames and smoke overtook an apartment building in South Brunswick, New Jersey on Monday morning.
Bodycam video captured the moment police could be heard yelling “drop the baby” to a father inside the burning building as firefighters and officers stood below a window with their arms stretched out.
The father tossed the terrified child out the window before diving head-first himself from the second floor.
South Brunswick Police Det. Sgt. John Penney recalled feeling an innate sense of duty to help the distressed father.
“You see a child, it just cranks up the adrenaline,” he said. “The situation was deteriorating quite quickly. The smoke was pouring out above him. I can still envision that.”
A couple of hours after the fire broke out, the little boy appeared to be in better spirits while holding a stuffed teddy bear.
“This is what we signed up for,” South Brunswick Police Officer Ryan Bartunek said. “This is the exciting part of the job. You want to be able to help people and do the right thing.”
Fire officials say it was a miracle the father and son were able to navigate through the dark to make it to the open window and that the father saved his child’s life.
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