True heroes never want to be called heroes

You can usually tell who the true heroes are: They are the ones saying, “I’m not a hero.”

But by definition, Collinsville Police officer Michael Bauer is a hero because he risked his life to save another. He, on March 15, went into a burning house where a man was overcome by smoke, risking his own life to pull the man out.

“I kicked in the door and went into the porch area. The visibility was zero. I could hear him yelling. I knew he was close, but I could not see him,” Bauer said. “I knew we had one shot. This had to be quick.”

He felt his way until he found the man.

“He was very disoriented. I grabbed his arm and the back of his pants and started to go, and I couldn’t pull him. His shirt was hooked on something. I ripped the shirt, grabbed the back of his pants and his arm and just ran like hell. We made it out. It was hot.”

Wow. And to think this was the second time in his 10 years on the force that Bauer ran into a burning house and saved someone. He and two other officers in 2007 pulled an elderly couple from a home. Both residents were on oxygen, meaning the officers were essentially handling frail, older folks attached to tanks that could explode.

As we all ponder the role of police officers in our communities, our ability to trust them and the need to attach body cameras, we should also remember the extraordinary sacrifices they could be asked to make at any moment. It is a good thing we don’t need to merit their trust before we ask them to run into a burning house to save us.

Thank you, Officer Bauer.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "True heroes never want to be called heroes."