Off-Duty Police Officer Kicks In Front Door, Helps Family Escape North Reading Fire

NORTH READING (CBS) – An off-duty police officer helped rescue people from a fire in North Reading.

Sgt. Thomas Encarnacao saw the flames overnight on Lowell Road and called firefighters.

He also kicked down the front door and yelled to the three people inside.

A man sleeping on the couch and his friend sleeping in the basement made it out on their own, but the man's 13-year-old son was still in the home. When firefighters arrived they pulled the teen through a window.

"It was a surreal event; you know you plan for this your whole career," Sgt. Thomas Encarnacao said. "It was a great team effort. We were nervous but once the other officers arrived, I knew if something had happened to me they were right there with me so it was a good feeling."

All three were evaluated on the scene but not taken to the hospital.

The cause of the fire is under investigation