MONROE -- Two sisters and their children are safe Tuesday night, thanks to two Monroe police officers who didn't hesitate to run into a house filled with smoke.

Officers Dylan Cole and Corey Helms described the rescue as a moment that lasted just about a minute or two, but felt like eternity.

Officer Helms said “Well actually I wasn't really thinking about myself. I have an almost 2-year-old nephew, so when I was holding the baby, I was thinking about him the whole time. Just get him out.”

Late Monday night, two sisters had just gotten home from celebrating Christmas. One of the sisters, Stephanie Munoz, told us she was boiling water to sterilize bottles for her 5-month-old baby.

But despite setting an alarm, she fell asleep. A couple hours later, she woke up to smell of smoke.
“In that moment, you don't know what to do,” she said. “It's very scary.”

Munoz called 911.

Officer Helms happened to be around the corner, so he got there first before firefighters could.

“Just right place at the right time,” Helms said.

Officer Cole got there shortly after, and they jumped into action even though they couldn't see anything through the smoke that filled the house.

“She threw me the keys down,” Helms explained. “I unlocked the door and smoke just started billowing out.”

“It was just an instinct I guess,” Cole said.

Munoz said “All of a sudden we ended up seeing him in the room, and he ended up carrying, him and another officer, ended up carrying both of my nieces out.

The officers helped the sisters and their children get out of the smoke-filled house.

Officer Cole said “I feel prideful, but I don't think we're heroes. Anyone else in this uniform or any first responders would've done the same thing.”

Officer Helms said “I think we all have a purpose and this is ours.

Munoz told us she wants to tell these officers “Thank you for everything. Thank you for saving us. For saving my baby and my nieces and us.”