Body Cam Footage Shows Team Effort To Rescue 74-Year-Old Blind, Deaf Man From Fire In Coweta

Rescuing a 74-year-old man from his home took a big team effort and some quick-thinking Thursday.

On Tuesday, body camera footage of the rescue was released by the Wagoner County Sheriff's Office.

Bobby Pickett was one of the Coweta police officers first on the scene, along with Wagoner County Sheriff’s deputies.

"It was hard not knowing where the guy was, it was even harder when you could see him and there was nothing we could do besides talk to him," Pickett said.

They found out quickly that there was someone still trapped inside and tried multiple times to run into the burning building to save the man. Police Chief Michael Bell said the smoke and flames were just too hot without any protective gear.

"The smoke was hot, they tried like three or four times to get into the house, but their face was burning, their eyes were burning," Bell said.

The crew was eventually able to find the room the elderly man was in after hearing his voice through a broken window

When Coweta firefighters arrived, the group immediately started to work together to get someone inside who could then get the elderly man out.

"As a supervisor, one of the worst feelings in the world is watching one of your guys go in there," Pickett said.

Eventually they pulled the man out through the window and carried him to an ambulance. No one was injured. Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott said this is a perfect example of first responders working together.

"We can't protect this county solely on our own. we all have to work together; this is a shining example where many agencies came together, and a life was saved," Elliot said.

The Coweta Police department said after this, they'll start training with firefighters to figure out how best to respond to moments like these.