Exclusive body cam shows dramatic rescue from Canton house fire
By Nicholas Brooks
Click here for updates on this story
CANTON, Mississippi (WAPT) — 16 WAPT News has obtained exclusive and intense body camera footage showing the moments a Canton police officer rescued a severely burned man from a burning home on Grand Street Sunday night.
According to police, officers responded to reports of smoke and a possible fire at a home on Grand Street. Neighbors said the homeowners had just moved in over the weekend and that the house had recently been remodeled.
One neighbor, Billy Smith, described the chaotic scene.
“When I heard the boom, I thought it was like thunder or something. When I walked outside, I saw a little kid sitting by a firetruck. He had a big burn on his leg,” Smith said.
When crews arrived, the situation quickly escalated.
Body camera video captures the confusion and urgency as officers tried to determine what happened.
“He lit a cigarette, and then it went boom,” one person can be heard saying.
“You got burned? OK, we’re going to get you checked out,” an officer tells a juvenile.
“He got burnt, and the guy up there got burnt,” another voice says.
The video then shows Canton police Officer Jason Wells rushing toward the burning home and helping a badly injured man escape.
Moments later, Wells is seen collapsing and coughing after being overcome by smoke inhalation.
Officials said Wells was treated and later taken to the hospital, where he was released the next day.
Canton Police Department Assistant Chief Steven Johnson said while Wells’ actions were heroic, they did not follow standard protocol.
“They are the ones that have to go in there with the equipment to get the individual out. But in his mind, he was thinking I just need to help this individual,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that officers are trained to wait for fire crews in situations like this to avoid putting themselves in danger.
For Wells, however, the decision to act came down to what he heard at the scene.
“I heard a child hollering, saying, ‘Please save my daddy. That’s what drew my attention to make sure that he was all right,” Wells said. “My safety was making sure that he was OK. That’s what our job is, to make sure the citizens are OK.”
The father and son who were injured in the fire remain hospitalized with severe burns and are recovering. It is still under investigation what caused the fire.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.