Officers Chavez and Cordero are being recognized as lifesavers after rushing into a burning home to rescue two young girls. NBC 5’s Keenan Willard shares their heroic story and the honor they received from the Town of Little Elm.
Two police officers who saved two girls from a burning home are being honored by the town of Little Elm for their heroism.
Body camera video showed officers Hakir-Alej Chavez and Marcial Cordero rushing into the house to save the girls last Wednesday.
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WATCH HEREThe officers were given the police department’s Life Saving Award and Medal of Valor for their actions, and NBC 5 spoke with them about the intense rescue.
“I was just doing my job,” said Cordero.
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SIGN UP On March 26, the two officers responded to a call for help at a burning home, where neighbors told them there were still two children inside.
“I could see smoke coming out of the front door, and I go, that house, the one that’s on fire?” said Chavez.
Video of the incident showed the officers making their way inside the home, nearly blinded by the thick smoke that filled the hallways.
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Chavez quickly located a 5-year-old in one of the rooms.
“I found the one little girl and I took her outside, and one of the little kids told me that the other one was upstairs,” said Chavez.
Cordero made his way up the stairs through the haze, calling for the other victim.
He soon found her, a 10-year-old girl.
“I wasn’t sure if she was unconscious or not. I tried waking her up; she did wake up,” said Cordero. “And I told her, hey, we’ve got to get out of here, the house is on fire.”
The officers guided the second victim out of the burning home, where paramedics found that both rescued children would be OK.
“It was a huge relief,” said Chavez.
In front of a packed meeting of the Little Elm Town Council on Tuesday night, the officers were presented with the police department’s Life Saving Award and Medal of Valor.
Both officers told NBC 5 they were humbled by the recognition and said they believed every other officer in the department would have jumped into action the same way.
“I believe we were both just glad that everybody was out safe,” said Cordero.
They said they didn’t think twice about rushing into the home to save the girls, and moments like this were what they signed up for.
“We knew that there was little kids that needed help, and so we did what anybody else would have done,” said Chavez.
Both girls inside the burning home were found still in bed, and in past reporting, NBC 5 has found that many children can sleep through smoke alarms. Experts said it’s critical for families to check on every child in a fire emergency and make sure they’re awake to evacuate.
