Video: Tampa man trapped inside home filling with smoke rescued by police

Police rescue man from house fire

A Tampa man trapped inside his house as it filled with smoke was rescued by police. Aaron Mesmer reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa police have released a video of a dramatic rescue of an elderly man who was incapacitated in his East Tampa home while the house filled with smoke.

The body camera video shows officers arriving at East Chipco Street where a smoke alarm could be heard blaring from a nearby home. The officer can be seen struggling to get into the home and using a pry bar and metal ran to bust open the door.

Once inside, they could see the home was filled with heavy smoke, and Wallace Carter, 81, was on the floor unable to get up.

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"Anytime it's smoke or fire involved it can take a matter of seconds for someone to become incapacitated," said Officer Travis Wilson.

Police rescue man from home filling with smoke

Bodycam video shows the moment a Tampa police officer rescued a man as his home filled with smoke.

The video shows Officer Wilson and Officer Travis Fox pull Carter out to safety.

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Carter told FOX 13 he was cooking chicken and walked away for a few minutes. When he returned, something on the oven was burning and the house was filling with smoke.

"The smoke was so bad, I don't even remember no police," Carter told FOX 13, adding he credits police with saving his life.

Credit: Tampa Police Department

Wallace was thankful police arrived as quickly as they did.

"Getting through traffic in those big fire trucks, sometimes we're able to beat them here, and those seconds matter," said Wilson.

Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire. Wallace was briefly hospitalized but is expected to recover.

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