YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A rookie police officer one year out of the academy, along with one on the force only a year, helped rescue a Bogota woman from her burning house last night.
The call from Elm Street came in just before midnight.
“A trio of police officers arrived to find flames coming from the house and a woman calling for help from a second-floor window,” Police Chief John Burke told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
With no concern for their personal safety, rookie Officer Kevin Gerahty (top, left), along with Officers Hector Liriano and Ryan Ward, rescued the woman, with help from a neighbor, and “were tending to her medical needs when additional EMS arrived,” the chief said.
Ryan joined the department less than a year ago.
The house had heavy fire that extended to an unattached garage, but the Bogota Fire Department quickly knocked the flames down.
“They did an amazing job of containing the fire and extinguishing it,” Burke added.
Bogota’s EMS and Rescue Squads were on scene and treated and transported the resident.
“The weather conditions didn’t make thing easy, with the cold and wind causing icy conditions,” the chief said. “But our DPW responded, as well, and helped clear the area by salting the frozen water.”
It was one of three house fires Bergen-area emergency workers had to deal with in the span of just a few hours last night. SEE: House blazes test firefighters in Mahwah, Bogota, Hasbrouck Heights