KALAMAZOO, MICH. — A Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officer caught an infant dropped from a second-floor window during a structure fire on May 15 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Crews responded to the two-story residence at about 4:16 p.m. after dispatchers were alerted that a porch was on fire and that a woman and her infant were trapped inside the second-floor unit.

First responders arriving on scene found a fully involved porch fire on the right side of the building, which is divided into three separate living units. Fire crews spotted a woman in a second-floor window on the left side of the home holding her baby as smoke poured out of the structure.

Body camera footage identified the officer as Public Safety Officer Arnett. Arnett circled the building while searching for the woman and the infant, then instructed her to remove the window screen and drop the baby into his arms.

Arnett caught the infant when it was dropped from the second-floor window and handed the baby off to a nearby equipment operator. He then focused on assisting the mother to safety.

The interior staircase of the home had been damaged by the flames, forcing crews to use ground ladders to reach the second-floor porch. A ground ladder was raised to the window, allowing the mother to climb down to safety.

Both the mother and the infant were taken to a local hospital for precautionary evaluation. Neither was injured. Occupants of the two lower-level units self-evacuated and were not hurt.

Most of the fire was concentrated on the exterior right side of the home, but flames had spread into the attic. Firefighters removed portions of the roof edge and exterior siding to reach hidden flames, and additional crews removed sections of the ceiling inside to locate and extinguish remaining hot spots. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.