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Hero cops save 99, 96 and 91-year-old from fire
Four NYPD officers are being hailed as heroes for saving a 99-year-old woman and a 96 and 91-year-old man from a fire in Chinatown.
NEW YORK - Four NYPD officers are standing behind their badges a little bit taller with a greater sense of accomplishment, purpose, and story to tell after rescuing three 90-year-olds from a fire in Manhattan.
"I remember very specifically a guy walked up to me and said, 'Mommy Mommy—6th floor’ and at that point I knew we had to get up there," recalled 16-year veteran NYPD officer Jeremy Banfield.
About a week ago, Banfield and his co-worker police officers jumped into action minutes before firefighters could arrive when a fire broke out in the 6-story apartment building right across from their police precinct in Chinatown.
A body camera worn by Officer William Finan, a 19-year veteran of the force, caught him on video carrying out a 99-year-old woman. Moments later, his partner William Dottavio jumped right in to help.
"I start making my way up to the 5th floor and that’s when I see Detective Rosado coming down the stairs holding another elderly woman," said Dottavio.
Body cam footage shows him in a full-out sprint; yet he and the team kept calm enough in the chaos to help save 2 more residents that would’ve struggled to make it down the flights of stairs.
The officers ended up rescuing the 99-year-old woman, along with a 96- and 91-year-old man, carrying them into their precinct following the fire just one week before Christmas.
"After you’re done and after you get everybody out of there, and you do see that the holidays are here, then you start thinking wow. This could’ve been totally different," said Officer Rodney Rosado.
"I would do it again and I know there are 25,000 cops on this job that would’ve done exactly the same thing that we did that day," added Banfield.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.