Chattanooga Officer Rescues Mother, 2 Kids from Apartment Fire

Chattanooga Police Officer Eli Rogers rescued a mother and her two young children from a burning apartment in Hixson, Tennessee, on May 1, rushing inside despite visible flames near the front door.

Rogers arrived just before 10 p.m. as the first responder to the two-story residential fire. Neighbors alerted him that people remained trapped inside, prompting him to breach the door and enter the smoke-filled building. Body camera and Ring doorbell footage released by the Chattanooga Police Department captured the officer carrying 4-year-old Marlowe Blaylock to safety, while her mother, Rachel Blaylock, followed with her 10-year-old son, Charles. Rogers then retrieved a fire extinguisher to battle flames spreading across the front porch until firefighters arrived.

No injuries were reported from the incident. The Chattanooga Fire Department knocked down the blaze within 20 minutes, according to authorities. The fire destroyed the family's apartment and most of their belongings, and the Red Cross is providing assistance. A GoFundMe fundraiser for the Blaylocks noted that the apartment's smoke alarm did not activate.

Blaylock recounted her panic in an interview, saying she struggled to...