The officers were seen standing beneath the building with their arms spread to catch the baby.
A man was forced to toss his 3-year-old son and also jump from a second-floor window of a building to escape a fire in a heart-pounding video from New Jersey, US.
In the footage shared by the South Brunswick Township Police Department's public relations office, we can see several panicked first responders near the building, which is enveloped in flames and smoke. Standing beneath the building with their arms spread, the officers try to persuade the man trapped on the second floor to throw his infant down.
We can hear the officers shouting “pass the baby down”. As the father clears a passage out the window, we can see debris raining down. He then tosses the horrified infant out the window before leaping from the second storey, head first.
The incident occurred last week and the terrifying ordeal was captured on an officer's body camera.
The South Brunswick PD captioned the post, “Rescue captured on officers' body worn camera. Dad throws child out 2nd floor window to officers and firefighters, then jumps to escape flames consuming apartment building.”
Watch the video here:
The video has been viewed over 7,500 times with many user praising the rescue efforts of the officers.
One user wrote, “Thank God those officers were there to catch the baby and it's father.”
A couple of users also hailed the “first responders”.
Another user applauded the “solid work” by the officers “for the family in their time of need”.
Here are a few more reactions:'
A report in CBS News quoted South Brunswick Township Police Department's Sergeant John Penney as saying, “You see a child, it just cranks up the adrenaline”. Mr Penney added that the situation was deteriorating quite quickly, and the “smoke was pouring out above him”.
Another report in ABC7 New York quoted South Brunswick Fire Marshal John Funcheon as saying, “It was nearly 15 minutes from the first 911 call to when the dad and toddler escaped the through the window. It was the closed bedroom door that kept the fire from entering the bedroom.”