Watch the Bodycam footage HERE››
(11 Alive) – Footage from a body camera captured a Griffin police sergeant’s heroic rescue of a 3-year-old from a house fire.
Sgt. Joe Hudson of the Griffin Police Department arrived at the scene of the blaze before the fire department and quickly assessed the situation. He spotted a grandmother exiting burning home and learned that her grandson was still in his room. That’s when the 14-year veteran leapt into action – running into a fire for the first time.
“I was looking everywhere and couldn’t find him,” Hudson said. “Smoke was starting to get to me, so I grabbed some clothes off her bed and put ’em to my face.”
Still, he persisted.
“Opened that door and he was laying there on the bed, and I immediately grabbed him and ran out,” Hudson said.
The sergeant moved back into the smoky darkness and found a door to get out into the light.
“I immediately sat down on the ground and started catching my breath,” he said.
Then he met the child he saved.
Despite the attention he’s receiving from the rescue, Hudson said his actions were all part of the job.
“I did what I get paid to do,” he said. “I’m supposed to do what others might not, so that’s what I did. I earned my paycheck.”
Waffle House donated the money for the Griffin Police Department’s 60 body cameras after Officer Kevin Jordan was shot and killed at one of their restaurants. The department began using the cameras on Jan. 1.
