An 8-year-old girl and her mother were rescued from their burning home in Windsor early Tuesday morning.
Flames broke out inside the house at 101 Grande Avenue around 3:15 a.m. A 911 caller reported two people trapped in a bedroom and couldn't get out of the home.
"I woke up and there was smoke everywhere," Lisandra Marshall said. " I ran to my daughter's room and woke her up and said 'there's a fire'. I opened up the window and told her to stay by the window."
Marshall and her daughter, Dacian Levy, 8, were hanging from the bedroom window as smoke filled the house. She screamed to get her neighbors' attention, but no one could hear her.
Two rookie Windsor police officers who arrived first on the scene, saw the mother and daughter hanging from the window, and sprang into action.
Officer Thomas Messina ran into the garage, grabbed a ladder, and placed it against the house under the window where the victims were trapped.
"I climbed pretty close to the top rung, got the daughter out first," Messina said. "Hopefully by that time, Officer Sanchez showed up. I could feel him on my leg, holding onto me."
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Officer David Sanchez, and a firefighter joined the rescue.
"I kind of grabbed on the ladder as well, we both grabbed her," Sanchez said. I was able to hold her while officer Messina grabbed the ladder. She was on top of my shoulder and I walked her to the street."
Both victims were treated for smoke inhalation. Marshall was released from the hospital. 8-year-old Dacian was released later on Tuesday, and went to school.
"I have no words, just thank God for the Windsor police," Marshall said. "They are real heroes."
Sanchez and Messina both quit their jobs a few years ago to join the force.
"That's why I signed up to do this job. I couldn't ask for a better day or a better call, just having the chance to do it," Messina said.
"We were just doing our job. That's what we are trained to do," Sanchez said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
