'Time was of the essence': Officers who saved residents from burning home in Vaughan recall the scene

Police are crediting the actions of three “brave” officers who they say entered a burning building in Vaughan last week to pull residents to safety.

The officers were dispatched to the home near Langstaff Road and Ansley Grove shortly after 10 p.m. on Dec. 14.

Police say that officers got to the scene prior to the arrival of firefighters and soon learned that residents were still inside.

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Police say that one of the officers, identified as Const. Nicola Foster, located two elderly residents near the front door of the home and escorted them to safety.

The other two officers, Constables Justin Carosi and Joshua Hamilton, went further inside in search of the remaining resident, the elderly couple’s daughter.

'TIME WAS OF THE ESSENCE'

“As we’re there, everything is happening so quick, and when we were dealing with the first couple that we met there at the front door, I just remember hearing a scream from inside and instinctively, my partner and I didn’t hesitate,” Carosi told CTV News Toronto in an interview.

“We just rain in there. We didn’t know where she was […] luckily, we found her as quick as we did because time was of the essence there.”

Carosi said thick, black smoke billowed from the garage, but despite the poor visibility they found her and his partner brought her out through to the backyard to safety while he exited through the front door.

Police are crediting the actions of three “brave” officers who they say entered a burning building in Vaughan last week to pull residents to safety.

In an interview, Hamilton told CTV News Toronto the daughter seemed taken aback to see him inside the home.

“I think the look on her face was kind of surprised, like, ‘Why is there a police officer taking me out of the house?’ And I’m like, ‘No, no, no, we’re leaving. We’re gonna leave right now,’” Hamilton said.

Both Hamilton and Carosi said they were just doing their jobs that evening, with Hamilton adding he doesn’t do this “for the medals.”

“I mean, to say you aren’t afraid going into a situation like this, you’d be lying to yourself, but at the same time, it’s the job we signed up for, and we know the risks that are associated with this job,” Carosi said.

“If you have your own inherent fears or hesitations, you have to kind of put them to the side and make sure you accomplish what you’re there to accomplish.”

Police say that the three officers were treated for smoke inhalation following the incident and have since returned to work.

The residents, police say, did not sustain any serious injuries.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Siobhan Morris