Heroic officer rescues residents from burning apartment building, body camera video shows

BRISTOL TWP., Pa. -- A Bristol Township police officer is being hailed for his bravery after rushing into a burning apartment building early Wednesday morning to help evacuate sleeping residents.

Officer Michael Leonhauser responded to the fire at the Levittown Trace Apartments on the 300 block of Ford Road around 5:30 a.m. Body camera footage shows him running door to door inside the smoke-filled building, alerting residents to the danger.

"Immediately, my thought is, alright, I don't see too many people outside, so I'm going to have to go in these buildings, knock on some doors," Leonhauser said.

As he exited the building, coughing from the smoke, Leonhauser spotted a man hanging from a second-story window. He rushed to help guide the man to safety.

"I rush over. I didn't want him to fall to the concrete, so I aided him on his way down," Leonhauser said.

The man said he had lived in the apartment for 22 years and was trapped by thick smoke.

"When I got in the hallway, I could not make it. The smoke was too much," he said. "See that window right there? That's the one I jumped through. See my hand? Thank God it's not my life. Thank God it's not my life. Believe me."

Resident Kyle Hamell described the scene as chaotic.

"The roof was on fire, windows, flames coming out of the windows, everything," Hamell said.

Three firefighters were injured while battling the fire. One suffered a broken arm when a roof collapsed, another sustained an ankle injury, and the third was treated for smoke inhalation. According to the fire marshal, 12 apartments were destroyed.

"We had fire on the second floor, third floor, and up in the attic," said Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito. "Once it got up in the attic, it was running in both directions in the shoe-shaped building, so the fire department had their work cut out for them."

The Red Cross is assisting approximately 40 displaced residents.

Leonhauser says some of those residents got out just in time.

"Anybody in my position would have done the same thing," Leonhauser said. "I'm just glad that everybody was ok and he didn't sustain any major injuries."

The fire occurred on Leonhauser's birthday. He said he was humbled to spend the day helping others.