KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer made what the department says is a life-saving catch.
Friday around 4 p.m., officers arrived to a house on fire with flames coming out of the roof on Washington Avenue in Kalamazoo, near James Street.
WATCH: Officer catches baby out of burning building
Dispatchers were on the phone with a mother who said she and her baby were trapped inside, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety told me.
Police say body camera video of the incident captured the harrowing moment where dispatch lost contact with the mom.
Moments later, an officer spotted the mother through the upstairs window of the home. He told her to kick out the screen window and drop her baby to him.
After catching the infant, the officer handed the baby off to another officer, then put a ladder under the window to get the woman out safely, said the department.
That officer made sure no one else was inside the home, then got back to his vehicle, put on his turnout gear, and assisted with putting the fire out.
Both mother and baby are okay, according to police.
I met with the officer who made the catch, Michael Arnett. He's been with the department for a little more than four years.
"How did you know it was the right move in the moment?" I asked.
“Well, I got a baby of my own. So I knew the first thing I would do was get all the occupants out of the house. Property can be replaced. Obviously lives can’t,” Arnett replied.
Watch the story featuring Arnett's account of the save:
Arnett says the mom lowered the baby to close the gap as much as possible. It was a moment where he acted on instinct, in order to help neighbors who needed it.
“The only exit and entry was fully involved, so obviously that wasn’t an option,” Arnett said.
“She had zero hesitation on saving the child first,” Arnett said.
