Dearborn Heights police officer saves little boy in apartment fire

A little boy trapped as a fire rips through his apartment building in Dearborn Heights. Police arrived before the fire department and knew there was no time to waste.

Last Friday Dearborn Heights parents can be heard on three 911 calls saying there was no sign of their son as a fire ripped through their kitchen.

"My house is on fire - my son is inside," the woman can be heard saying during a call.

Dearborn Heights police at first were unable to understand the frantic mother but minutes later alerted fire crews and police. And closest to the town-home on Country Lane was Cpl. Scott Keller and Sgt. Tim Zawacki.

"We went up to the front door to try to look in, there was a lot of black smoke," Zawacki said. "And you couldn't see a thing inside the house."

Getting there before fire crews, the two boys in blue were not going to wait another second.

"There was a citizen out there with a T-shirt, I told me to give me his T-shirt," Zawacki said. "I gave it to officer Keller to put it over his mouth."

Keller then crawled in, making his way through the thick smoke and vowing not to come out without the little boy who was apparently scared and hiding in a bedroom closet.

"At that point I just stood up, with my flashlight and I couldn't see my hand in front of my face," Keller said. "I tripped over the furniture and stuff that was in there and made my way to the boy. I couldn't see him; I just kept following his voice."

Finally reaching the crying boy at the top of the stairs, Keller says he quickly picked him up and put the shirt over his face racing through the heavy smoke toward the door.

Keller says when he carried the little boy out and he saw his mother. The fear and tears then turned into a beaming smile.

"Just the look on his face was enough," Keller said.

Keller and the little boy were treated for smoke inhalation.

"A lot of it is still a blur," Keller said. "My main goal regardless of everything was to get that child out."

It's believed that boy may not have made it without the help of these guys.

"It feels great, it is the instinct of the job, being a father," Keller said. "You just 'do.' And you hope someone would do that for you."