Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Caputo was on patrol Saturday on Route 9W in Coxsackie.

“I looked up, saw a ton of smoke coming from a house, figured somebody had just started their wood stove for the day,” he said. “As I got closer, I realized that it was coming off their front porch and realized that there was actually a fire on the front porch.”

He called dispatch for the fire department and grabbed the fire extinguisher from his patrol car.

“It was starting to burn up the wall. In another five minutes, the whole house would probably be burning to the ground.”

Body camera video shows what happened as he ran to the house. There was thick, black smoke and bright orange flames on the porch that went up higher than the door, then clouds of white as he quickly puts out the fire, just in time.

“I am extremely proud of the deputy how he handled that,” said Lieutenant Andrew Overbaugh. “It’s not every day where we get to put out a fire and save someone’s house.”

Caputo is also a volunteer firefighter with Kiskatom Fire Department.

“It could have been a real travesty for that homeowner. They could have lost everything, so his quick actions saved that house,” Overbaugh said.

Caputo went back to the house Tuesday and saw a grateful Carol Keinath. She was not home at the time of the fire, but her dog and cat were inside the house. She thanked the sheriff’s department.

“They’re just great people and I can’t say enough about them,” said Keinath. “They’re in my heart, and it’s just wonderful to have people like that.”