New Jersey Father Drops 3-Year-Old Out Of Burning Building Into Hands Of First Responders [Video]

A father in New Jersey was caught on camera tossing his 3-year-old son out of the window of a burning building into the outstretched arms of first responders, who were trying to rescue the parent and the child.

First responders were called to the scene after the fire broke out Monday and raged through the South Brunswick apartment complex at around 8.15 a.m. Flames were shooting out from the second and third floors of one of the buildings when the cops arrived, Associated Press reported.

Body camera footage shared by the South Brunswick Police Department showed the cops spotting a man sticking his head out of the second-floor window of the burning building.

Responders initially thought all 25 apartments in the building were empty before seeing the father, who went back inside as the officers from the ground urged him to hurry.

"When he went back in, I didn't know what he was going back in for, and that kind of concerns us when something like that happens," Fire Chief Chris Perez said, as quoted by ABC7. "So luckily, he came back fairly quickly with the child."

The tense moments in the video showed the officers asking the father to drop the toddler before the terrified child safely fell into their arms. The video also showed officers catching the father, who jumped out of the window right after dropping his son.

The content of the video might be disturbing for some viewers.

The police said the father and son were treated for minor injuries sustained from the incident.

Sergeant William Merkler, Patrolman First Class Ryan Bartunek, Detective Sergeant John Penney and Perez were identified as the heroic first responders who rescued the father and child in time.

“You see a child, it just cranks up the adrenaline,” Penney said, according to WHDH. “The situation was deteriorating quite quickly. The smoke was pouring out above him. I can still envision that.”

The child seemed to be doing better a couple of hours later, and was seen holding a stuffed teddy bear after the heart-pounding rescue.

“This is what we signed up for,” Bartunek said, according to the outlet. “This is the exciting part of the job. You want to be able to help people and do the right thing.”

Authorities said four other occupants in the building were treated for smoke inhalation. One of them was hospitalized.

The authorities are currently investigating the cause of the blaze.