After three Swansea boys saw smoke, police officers rammed open garage door to save man
Three young brothers, ages 6, 10 and 11, were out playing in Swansea Friday afternoon when they saw smoke coming from their neighbor’s home.
They quickly took action by alerting an adult about the smoke in the 300 block of Marla Kay Drive near Centennial Park, police said Monday.
“Their actions directly resulted in the fast response by first responders and likely saved the resident’s life,” according to a Swansea Police Department news release.
The resident was able to escape the burning duplex after three Swansea police officers were able to smash open the garage door by ramming their bodies into the garage door.
Body camera video footage released by the police department shows the resident being led out of the garage by officers after the metal and glass door had been smashed in far enough for the man to walk out.
The man suffered smoke inhalation but is expected to make a full recovery, Swansea Police Chief Matthew Blomberg said in an interview. The man was the only person home at the time of fire, which was reported at about 4:40 p.m.
Officer Justin Schutzbach took the lead in the ramming of the door and suffered some cuts from broken glass, Blomberg said.
Schutzbach was assisted by Officer Matt Lindley and Sgt. Breanna Kemper-Dunn.
The police news release describes the three boys as “Swansea’s newest homegrown heroes.”
Their names have not been released but Blomberg expects to get permission to recognize them.
Video scenes
The officers heard “faint noises” coming from the garage as they saw smoke coming out the front door of the duplex, police said.
In the police body camera video, officers can be heard calling out to someone in the garage.
“Can you hear me?” one officer says.
“What’s going on in the garage, bud? You need help?”
They asked twice whether the person could open the garage door.
As the door remained shut, the officers started pushing into the garage door and eventually were able to get the man to safety.
Cause of the fire
The fire started on the stove and it was contained to the kitchen, Swansea Fire Chief Doug Little said in a news release Monday.
Little said firefighters were told en route to the fire that the home may be occupied but no other persons were found in the home.
The Swansea Fire Department received assistance from the Northwest and East Side fire departments on the scene and the Fairview and Signal Hill fire departments provided backup coverage for Swansea.
This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 4:30 PM.