Caught on camera: Two officers save kids from a burning building seconds before the whole thing was engulfed in flames

VIDOR, TX - Two police officers are being hailed as heroes for their actions during a house fire that had two children trapped inside. According to CBS Austin, images captured by body camera footage released by the Vidor Police Department (VPD) show the moments the officers rescued the two children seconds before the house was engulfed in flames. 

VPD Chief Rod Carroll said that the call came into their dispatch center around 1:50 a.m., on Tuesday, September 10th, reporting a house fire in the 900 block of Pin Oak with children possibly being trapped inside. Officers immediately responded, finding the house engulfed in flames. The mother told the officer that her children were in the front room.

Chief Carroll said, "Officer Michael Stephenson immediately began to push and pull on a window air conditioning unit that was in the exterior window of the room the children were located. Officer Stephenson was able to dislodge the window air conditioning unit to gain access to the room and children. Officer Stephenson, with the assistance of Officer Ashton Moss, was able to reach through the window and remove a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old child.

Within a minute of the removal of the children, the room that the children were in had flames exiting the window. Both children were transported by Acadian Ambulance Service to Christus St. Elizabeth ER for smoke inhalation." The chief said that the two officers were life savers. He added, "The Vidor Police Department would like to commend Officer Michael Stephenson and Officer Ashton Moss for their heroic actions that saved the life of two children."

Following the incident, Officer Moss said, "When I pulled up, I just saw a big ball of fire, so I just tried to run over to the house." Officer Stephenson said, "Anytime you hear that there's going to be a child involved, that's like, your nightmare." The two children were trapped in the bedroom with no way out, blocked by the window air conditioning unit. 

Talking with 12News, Officer Stephenson said, "She told me it was screwed shut. I couldn't hear them. The fire was loud. It was right there. So we were just trying to get that open because that was our only way in." It took a total of 34 seconds for Stephenson, with the help of Moss, to get both of the boys out of the burning home. 

The home was a total loss, but no lives were lost, thanks to Officer Stephenson and Moss. Carroll said, "We were 40 seconds away from not getting those children out of the house. If these gentlemen were further away, it may not have been the outcome ... we're cherishing and celebrating." According to the Daily Caller, Officer Stephenson comforted one of the boys who had bumped his head during the escape.

The boy can be heard saying, "Thank you for saving me." The officer asked, "Are you okay? I know I bumped your head, but you're all ok, right?" The little boy said, "Yes, sir, I don't care about that." As a father of two, Stephenson said that his instincts took over, adding, "As a parent, you just want what's best for your kids all the time. They were good once they got out to the road."  Moss said, "You definitely think about your kids in times like that and you'd want to save them by any means necessary." The cause of the fire is still under investigation.