EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — East Hartford officers were treated for smoke inhalation after carrying a woman in a wheelchair down multiple flights of stairs to save her from a fire early Monday, according to the police department.
Officers were dispatched to a welfare check at 50 Hillside St. when they saw heavy smoke coming from the first floor, according to police. The fire was unrelated to the initial call.
The officers helped evacuate multiple floors of the building, which included carrying a woman in her wheelchair through heavy smoke. They then rushed back into the building to help others.
The fire was extinguished in the basement. Its cause remains under investigation.
Body camera footage from the scene shows the officers going into the building and yelling at residents to get outside. They are seen entering apartments, calling out “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” and helping people run outside.
A video from another camera shows an officer shouting out “Wheelchair!” as another asks the woman if she can come down the hallway.
The police department has not publicly released the names of the officers. They have returned to duty.