ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — Dramatic new video shows the moment two Altamonte Springs police officers arrived at the scene of a deadly fire on Ballard Street Wednesday morning.
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The video shows the officers immediately run towards the flames, trying to get people to safety.
An 11-year-old boy died in the fire that also destroyed 12 units. There’s now a growing memorial at the site for the child.
READ: ‘I felt hopeless’: Friends, neighbors share about child killed in Altamonte Springs fire
Early Thursday morning, kids who went to school with the boy at Lake Orienta Elementary stopped by the scene to reflect and remember their classmate.
There is nothing left of the apartment where the boy perished, but as body-worn camera video from the Altamonte Springs Police Department shows, at least one brave police officer ran door to door in the building, trying to save lives.
Thick smoke can be seen through Officer Zane Hoskin’s windshield as he approached the fire scene.
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Hoskin, who is brand new to the department, can be seen running straight towards the burning building at full speed as flaming debris falls around him.
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In the video, Hoskin can be seen immediately running to the first door he sees and attempting to kick it open. He’s unsuccessful with the first door, but then runs between apartments to the back of the building, ushering people to safety.
“Get out of your house,” Hoskin can be heard yelling to the fleeing residents.
Hoskin then ran upstairs to pound on even more doors before running back downstairs and continuing to keep residents away as the smoke got heavier.
As Hoskin continued his search, his training officer, Zach Morrissey, spoke to residents to assess the situation and learned a horrible truth.
“They say there’s a juvenile inside, but it’s way too hot,” Morrissey can be heard saying over his radio.
Meanwhile, Officer Hoskin, who had done all he could up to that point, finally took a moment to catch his breath after inhaling significant amounts of smoke.
People continued to arrive at the fire scene Thursday afternoon, leaving flowers and balloons in memory of the boy who lost his life there.
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