An 80-year-old resident was taken to St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston with severe burns after two Lodi police officers rescued him from a garden apartment fire Monday afternoon, authorities said.
Officers John Calabrese and David Delia pulled the unconscious victim out on their hands and knees due to all the smoke at the Gardens condos on Terhune Avenue near Marion Pepe Drive across from the Avalon development, Police Chief Donald Scorzetti said.
Outside, the officers gave him oxygen and he came to, Scorzetti said.
Firefighters doused the blaze, which may have first ignited on a couch around 3:30 p.m.
Given the extent of injuries, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Arson Investigations Unit joined Lodi fire officials in determining the cause.
The Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence.
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