Asbury Park, NJ — A dramatic rescue unfolded Monday when two Asbury Park police officers caught an 8-year-old boy as he jumped from the second floor of a burning home, saving his life just moments before the structure became fully engulfed in flames.
Officers John Walsh and Dewitt Bacon are being credited for their fast action and bravery during the fire, which broke out in a residential neighborhood as thick smoke and flames poured from the second story. The officers arrived to find the boy trapped upstairs with no way out.
With the fire intensifying and spreading rapidly, the child was forced to leap from a second-floor window. Walsh and Bacon positioned themselves directly beneath the window and caught the boy in their arms.
They had only seconds to spare.
The blaze had already overtaken most of the second floor by the time the boy landed safely in the officers’ grasp. Witnesses described the scene as chaotic and intense, with neighbors yelling and smoke choking the air.
The boy, whose name was not released, was evaluated by medical personnel and is expected to be OK. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
