COPAKE – Deputies Timothy Gladwin and Cody Falkner were among the first to respond to a fire at an apartment building on County Route 7A in Copake on August 18.

It happened just after 2 a.m. You can see the flames in the body cam video. People ran from the building. The video also shows others escaping out a window.

The flames and smoke were growing. The deputies heard that there might still be a man in an upstairs apartment.

“When we first went in, there was smoke in the hallway. There was smoke upstairs,” said Deputy Gladwin. “There was no fire in the area that we were at, but the smoke was in the stairwell, and it was increasing by the minute, by the second.”

They had to break down the door.

“Absolutely every second definitely counted, so without hesitation, my partner and I ran right upstairs, we were banging on his door,” said Deputy Falkner. “The next thing we’re doing is my partner is kicking his door in, and we ran in, and we searched his whole apartment area, and we found him in his bedroom.”

Authorities said the man was asleep. All three got out safely.

“They didn’t have to enter that building. They didn’t have the proper equipment, they didn’t know where they were going, they didn’t know how bad it was, they didn’t know if it was safe, but they did, and they made entry, and ultimately I believe saved a life,” said Columbia County Sheriff Donald Krapf.

Deputies said Copake Fire arrived soon after and quickly put out the flames.

The sheriff surprised the two deputies with Meritorious Service Awards.

“I guess looking back at it, it’s kind of honorable, but in the moment, my partner and I, we were just trying to do our job making sure he was OK and safe,” said Deputy Falkner.

“I think we were doing what was expected of us. I think that’s the standard that’s expected of us, and I’m glad that we could be there and we could do that,” said Deputy Gladwin.

He said he would do it again.

“Absolutely.”