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Hamilton Officers Michael Stefanelli and Anthony Lucidi were the first responders to arrive to the blaze at 11:40 p.m. Tuesday at 310 Klockner Road in Mercerville, Hamilton Fire Chief Chris Tozzi said in a statement.
Their porch above Palermo's restaurant was fully engulfed in flames, authorities said. The Red Cross was notified to find temporary shelter for the homeless family.
The officers made the decision to climb a compromised wood stairway on the side of the building and got to the roof to enter the apartment, where they found a couple and their 3-year-old daughter sound asleep and unaware of the danger blocking their escape, Tozzi wrote.
One officer guided the parents down to safety while the other carried their toddler, the chief said.
Tozzi called it moving to watch the little girl clutch her father as she stared at the emergency lights in awe, innocently unaware of the danger she’d been in, but for the heroics of the officers.
“The lack of egress for this apartment, its construction type, time of day and fast progression of this fire could very well have had a catastrophic outcome,” Tozzi wrote.
Firefighters from stations 8, 14, and 17 extinguished the fire, which caused significant damage. A township fire marshal determined it was accidental, the Hamilton Police Department said.
On its Facebook page, Palermo's of Hamilton wrote: "Luckily nobody was injured. There was some damage, but not bad enough to close us down for long."
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