Video shows the moments a Bristol Township police officer ran into a burning apartment building early Wednesday to alert residents and help a man escape from a second-story window.
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The officer, Michael Leonhauser, responded to a fire at the Levittown Trace Apartments on Ford Road around 5:30 a.m.
Body camera footage released by police to 6abc shows the officer rushing through the smoke-filled building, knocking on doors to wake sleeping residents.
“Immediately, my thought is, all right, I don’t see too many people outside, so I’m going to have to go in these buildings, knock on some doors,” Leonhauser told the TV station.
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After exiting the building, coughing from the smoke, Leonhauser spotted a man trapped in his second-floor apartment.
The man, who had lived in the apartment for 22 years, was hanging from a window, unable to escape through the smoke-filled hallway.
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“When I got in the hallway, I could not make it. The smoke was too much,” the resident said to 6abc.
Leonhauser helped the man safely to the ground.
Bristol Township Fire Marshal Kevin Dippolito said firefighters arrived to find flames venting from a second-floor window, with the fire having already spread to the third floor and attic.
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The fire marshal said the investigation into the cause of the fire remains ongoing as of Wednesday.
The fire left 12 apartments in the J Building uninhabitable due to fire, smoke and water damage.
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The American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania is assisting 40 displaced residents, said spokesperson Dave Skutnik.
Three people, including two firefighters, were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
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The blaze ultimately reached three alarms and drew fire crews from across Lower Bucks County.
According to Dippolito, police were quick to the scene and began evacuating the building by knocking on doors.
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The building’s fire alarm system also activated and was ringing during the blaze.
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