WATCH: Hero cop runs into exploding home to rescue disabled woman - Nine Line News
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The Columbia Police Department in Tennessee has released bodycam footage showing the moment Corporal Allan Ervin arrived at the scene of an exploding home engulfed in flames, and rushed inside to save a disabled woman.

Ervin, a 12-year veteran of the force was first on the scene on Friday, July 9 as his camera recorded an explosion blowing out the windows and part of the front of the home.

With smoke billowing and debris raining down, the officer encountered three people outside, frantically pointing to the inside of the burning home.

Inside was 37-year-old April Chumley, lying near the front door. The woman was severely disabled, non-communicative, and incapable of escaping the blaze on her own.

Corporal Ervin grabbed hold of Chumley and pulled her to safety, saving her life.

Her parents, 57-year-old Lisa Melheim and 54-year-old Joe Hartsfield were able to escape the home before the blast.

Chumley remains under critical care for burns and smoke inhalation, according to police, but her mother and father were both treated and released.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but Columbia Fire and Rescue said that the multiple explosions heard throughout the neighborhood were from oxygen tanks bursting in the blaze.

What has been confirmed is the heroism of the police officer.

Columbia Deputy Fire Chief Nick Brown says the officer’s actions were heroic.

He is limited in some of the things he can do, but one of the things he can do is locate the victim safely, pull that victim out. With him doing that, it probably saved this woman’s life.”

Columbia Fire and Rescue were on the scene in minutes. They were also in danger, as they had to battle a raging inferno with the potential for more explosions at any moment.

“Fire personnel arrived on scene, and they had several challenges,” recalled Chief Brown, “The first is a house on fire and oxygen cylinders, with multiple explosions, and then patient care. This shows a great partnership between Columbia Fire and Rescue and Columbia Police, and it is a great example of both departments working together for one common goal, and that goal is life safety.”

For Officer Ervin, it was all in a day’s work.

“As a police officer, the first thing you think of is the preservation of life, and fortunately, we were able to do that,” Ervin told the Columbia Daily Herald. “We know the risks we take when we go out there. You just have to react and use your best judgment.”

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