SAN ANTONIO -- An ordinary trip to the movies turned into a life and death situation for one San Antonio officer, and today he was honored for what many are calling a heroic rescue.
Police Chief William Mcmanus presented Officer Jeremy Swindells with an award for rescuing a family of five from a house fire. It happened Monday afternoon at a southeast side mobile home on Old Corpus Christi Highway near Interstate 37.
Swindells said he was driving his kids to the movies, when he saw the fire. He ran to the house and knocked on the door. When he didn't get an answer, he said he kicked down the house door to alert the family inside, who had no idea their house was on fire.
"At first I didn't digest what he had said," said homeowner, Tami Brown. "And then I saw the flames behind him, because he was on the porch and the flames were on the left side of the porch. So, that's when I realized we were in trouble, we were in serious danger."
Luckily, the family was able to get out safely. It's a sentiment Swindells said he hopes his children will remember.
"I tried to set an example for my children, so that way they know what it means to be a good human being," Swindells said.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined.
