Video captured a heroic Florida deputy as he climbed the outside of a burning apartment building in Orlando to rescue a 1-year-old girl early Saturday.
The suspenseful scene was filmed on the deputy’s body camera, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to the fire around 4:15 a.m. and found the baby and her mother, who had been trying to escape the blaze at the Isles at East Millenia complex, officials said in a news release.
The video shows flames coming from the apartment as Deputy William Puzynski scaled the second-floor balcony, grabbed the baby from her mother and passed the child down to other deputies on the ground.
“Just before climbing up the building, Deputy Puzynski took off his heavy outer ballistic vest - which his camera is attached to - to make it easier for him to climb. It’s an amazing twist of fate that the camera was able to capture what happened next,” the release said.
Puzynski shared his brave experience with CNN affiliate WKMG: “When I got here, we saw the building fully engulfed. It was chaos everywhere.”
“Afterwards when the mom came and found me, she actually gave me a hug, so it was rewarding,” he said. “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.”
The baby’s mother and grandmother were rescued using a ladder, per the sheriff’s office. No casualties were reported from the scene and no deputies were injured during the blaze, officials said.