DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – Two Dearborn Heights police officers went beyond the call of duty to rescue a 7-year-old boy trapped in a burning house Friday evening.
Sgt. Tim Zawacki and Cpl. Scott Keller were dispatched to the 6800 block of Country Lane at about 5 p.m. to a fire in an apartment complex.
They arrived prior to fire department personnel.
Salsabeel Tolba said she was cooking on the stove when a fire broke out and quickly spread. She grabbed her 7-month-old daughter but her 7-year-old son, Yusuff, ran upstairs.
“When we got the run initially, it didn’t come out as a house fire,” Zawacki said. “It just came out as a hysterical female calling.”
Keller, a father of six, entered the burning building in search of Yusuff.
“I got about three feet in, if that, on the ground,” Keller said. “Smoke was real thick.”
Following Yusuff’s screams, Keller found the boy and pulled him to safety.
Both Keller and the boy suffered from smoke inhalation but are both doing well.
“There’s no words that can explain how grateful we are,” Tolba said.
