Officers credited with pulling man from burning car

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) - Three Bloomington police officers are being called heroes after they pulled a man out of his burning car.

A police dashboard camera shows the incredible events.

An officer noticed 40-year-old Larry Roberts inside a car fully engulfed in flames, so the officer rushed back to his patrol car to get a fire extinguisher. In the meantime, two other officers arrive. You can't see them in the video, but moments later, you can see Roberts being carried out.

It all happened about 30 feet away from Andrew Huppert's front door. Huppert called 911.

"Those officers are heroes, man. It was absolutely incredible. They put their lives on the line. I didn't want to come out here because I was worried those utility poles were coming down, those flames were huge." Huppert said.

It happened just after 3:30 Thursday morning near the intersection of West Allen and South Patterson streets.

"It's conceivable that there was something wrong with the vehicle and caused it to catch on fire, at which point he pulled over and the fire got bigger, obviously." Bloomington Police Captain Joe Qualters said.

Officers Jeffrey Reese, Daniel Coons and Mathew Gilmore have all been nominated for the Bloomington Police Department's Lifesaving and Bravery Awards.

"Right as they got him out there was a secondary explosion, they got here just in time." Huppert added.

Roberts is at Bloomington Hospital. He is expected to live.