PLANT CITY, Fla. — Just four houses down from where they live, Mike Pietruskinski and his fiancé Sharon saw smoke.
“I was definitely at the right place at the right time,” said Mike.
Mike, who was in the Navy, and Sharon, who was in the Air Force, said they didn’t hesitate to go in.
“I saw mom coming, running toward the house with her third child. Automatically I thought 'where are the boys,'” said Pietruskinski.
There were two more boys inside, both non-verbal children with autism.
Mike who was just sworn in as a new officer with the Plant City Police Department, fought through the smoke and heat with Sharon by his side.
They used a hose to put down the fire on a couch and searched for the kids.
“I started yelling if you can hear my voice come towards it,” Mike said.
Eventually, Mike found one of the boys and got him out to safety.
When Pasco Fire Rescue got there, Captain Craig Harris with Firefighter Timothy McCormick and Probationary Firefighter Joshua Casal found the other boy in a bathroom shower with the water running and dense smoke.
Meanwhile, Mike is less than three weeks on the job as a police officer but is already being called a hero.
“I’m glad that I could help. And I would do it again.”
