Hero cops save family from burning apartment

Incredible video released by the North Brunswick PD shows the heroic action taken by Officer Joseph Grasso as he scaled the balconies of a condo complex to save two small children and their grandparents trapped on a second floor balcony as flames swept through their building Saturday night.

Thanks to Officer Grasso's courage and strength and the officers on the ground, including an off duty Port Authority cop, there were no serious injuries.

North Brunswick Capt. Brian Hoiberg offered the following account of the rescue:

As some of you already know, we responded to a structural fire on Saturday night, December 8th. The incident was reported to us as two fully involved buildings on Albury Way at approximately 1019pm. Patrol units arrived to find one building heavily involved in fire. As Officers investigated, they observed that two small children and their grandparents stranded on the second floor balcony. The front door area, the only other means of escape, was blocked by fire. Officer Joseph Grasso scaled the balconies, climbing to the second floor. He removed the children, and dropped them down to other Officers catching them below. One of those Officers was an off-duty Port Authority Officer that lives nearby. The same was done with the children’s grandparents. The Fire Department arrived shortly after and went to work on extinguishing the multiple alarm blaze, now fully engulfed. All involved did an excellent job. BWC video is attached. We are happy to report that in the end, there were no serious injuries to report.

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