Five Metro transit police officers have been recognized for rescuing people from a burning building near the Naylor Road Metrorail station.
“Although these officers will tell you that they were just doing their jobs, we thank them for their heroism,” said Metro Transit Police Department Chief Michael A. Taborn.
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On April 9, Officer Christopher Fulda was on duty at the Naylor Road station around 9 p.m. when he heard two loud explosions. He looked up and saw that a set of balcony doors on the fourth floor of a nearby condominium had been blown out by flames.
Fulda called in the fire to Metro transit communications and heard two women screaming for help. Fulda kicked in the front door of the building, which for some reason had been blocked, enabling residents to exit. He rushed to the fifth floor and found an elderly woman in a smoke-filled apartment. He picked her up and carried her down the stairs and outdoors to safety.
As he re-entered the building, he was joined by officers Anthony Reefer, Jaime Lopera, Cleaton Battle and Reginald Russell, who began knocking on each door to alert the residents of the fire.
Lopera and Fulda carried a resident in a wheelchair down the stairs to safety.
The officers remained on scene to assist even after the fire department arrived.
The five were honored for their bravery and heroism Thursday by the Metro board of directors and general manager.
