Two heroic Philadelphia cops were left stunned when they learned the wheelchair-bound man they saved from a fire was the one who started it.
Newly released dashcam footage shows the moment officers Nicholas Harper and Eugene Donahue rushed into a burning home last March to save the man, who couldn’t get out of the building because the elevators were down.
After checking the first floor, the cops encounter the man on the wheelchair by the stairway on the second floor and rushed to action.
Newly released dashcam footage shows the moment officers Nicholas Harper and Eugene Donahue saved a wheelchair-bound man from a house fire last March
When asked if he was okay or had the ability to move at all, the man did not say much.
The nature of the emergency gave the cops no time to wait for answers, and Harper quickly helped get the man out of his wheelchair, on Donahue’s shoulders, and out of the building.
Once outside, the man confirmed he was okay as he coughed presumably due to smoke from the fire.
The officers and the man were all treated for smoke inhalation at Hahnemann Hospital, as reported by NBC10.
Officer Harper quickly helped get the man out of his wheelchair, on Donahue’s shoulders, and out of the building
To the officers’ surprise, the man they rescued Henry Flowers, who started the fire over a feud with a resident of the public housing property
But in an interesting twist of events, the hero cops would later learn the man they saved was 48-year-old Henry Flowers, who actually started the fire as part of a feud with someone who lived in the property which is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
Flowers pleaded guilty to arson and is currently serving a two-year prison sentence.
However, for Donahue, the identity of the man didn’t matter, because he sees saving lives as part of the job.
‘Hopefully, I don’t have to do it again but if I do, there will be no hesitation, just go right in and do it. I Gotta do it,’ Donohue told ABC6.
Flowers (pictured) pleaded guilty to arson and is currently serving a two-year prison sentence
Officer Donahue said Flowers’ identity didn’t matter, because saving lives is part of the job