'I'm Just Happy It Was My Turn': Gloucester Township Police Officer Hailed Hero After Saving Elderly Woman From Burning Home
GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) -- A South Jersey police officer is being hailed as a hero after he ran into a burning house to save an elderly woman on Thursday. Thanks to that police lieutenant's selfishness, 70-year-old Elaine Kaleck was rescued, and doctors think she may live to talk about it.
"I really believe the reason that someone puts a uniform on is because they know if called upon, at that time, they need to do what they need to do to help somebody out," Gloucester Township Police Lt. Mark Benton said. "I'm just happy it was my turn."
Benton knew what he signed up for when he took the oath to protect and serve the Gloucester Township community.
But no officer knows when that oath may be tested. For Benton, it was just before 2 p.m. on Thursday.
"There was a lot of smoke when I got out of my vehicle, the fire department was pulling up. You could see a heavy amount of fire coming out of one of the bedrooms on the second floor of the residence," Benton said.
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Benton didn't know it at the time, but there was a 70-year-old woman passed out inside the inferno on Lamppost Lane.
As firefighters battled the flames from the back of the house, Benton entered through the front of the home and spotted a victim's leg.
"Got an arm and one of her legs and was able to kind of move her around the corner and got both of her arms," Benton said. "Pulled her back out the way I came, maybe 22, 25 feet."
With the help of a firefighter, the two were able to get Kaleck out of the home.
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Kaleck was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and Benton was also hospitalized.
Benton was treated overnight for smoke inhalation and was released Friday from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
A life was saved, but for Benton, he was just answered the call of duty.
"I'd do it again tomorrow if called upon, it's just what we do," Benton said.
Kaleck is in stable condition now and doctors believe she'll survive.
