Bay Area officers save man and dog from burning car

OAKLAND, Calif. - It was a case of quick thinking when every second counts. Officers from Piedmont and Oakland Police Departments took action under pressure when they rescued a man and a dog from a burning car in Piedmont Tuesday night.

The incident was captured on Piedmont Police Officer Jason Germano's body camera.

He says he was on patrol when he learned that Oakland police needed help from someone with a fire extinguisher.

"I grabbed the fire extinguisher out of my vehicle, ran up to the vehicle, [sprayed] where the fire was," says Germano.

The officer says the car was engulfed in flames when he arrived at the intersection of Park Boulevard and Estates Drive at around 11:20 p.m.

"I slowed it down but I couldn't put it out," Germano says the man refused to get out of the car and that he appeared dazed.

The body camera video shows Germano pulling the man out with the help of other officers.

"My mindset was I need to get this guy out, somehow get him out of this car. I just went in for him and pulled on him. I was going to pull until I couldn't pull anymore," says Germano. 

The 42-year-old has been with Piedmont police just over two years. He says this is his dream job: helping people.

He had been an automotive mechanic for 22 years. His knowledge of cars came in handy during this incident.

"I knew what chemicals were underneath the hood. I know it's not going to blow up like the movies. But I know that we had limited time to get that gentleman out of there," says Germano.

 "You're going to see that his dog was safely pulled from the car. That's an Oakland officer that's got the dog over here on a leash," Piedmont Police Captain Chris Monahan says as he looked at the video. He's proud of the way Germano and the Oakland police officers worked together.

He says he isn't surprised by Germano's actions, "This officer, by choice, works the overnight shift, which is considered a hard shift for people."

"I don't feel that I'm a hero. I just did what I would want someone to do for me if I was ever in that situation," says Germano. 

The man was taken to the hospital. He and the dog survived.

Police are investigating what caused the car fire, including whether it was involved in a crash with another vehicle that may have left the scene.