Some heroes don't wear capes, but plenty of them sport a badge.
Videos by Wide Open Country
For example, a recently released video shows how a police officer in Texas saved a man whose car caught fire. Moments before the car exploded into flames, he managed to pull the driver free.
The Cop Knew Something Was Wrong
As reported by the New York Post, Southlake Police Corporal Joshua Swisher noticed smoke swirling from a Nissan Altima as it was heading down Highway 114 in Southlake, Texas, on June 7.
The car then pulled over to the highway's right shoulder for an emergency stop. Swisher was at an unrelated traffic stop when his superiors alerted him to what was happening.
Footage from the cop's dashcam and bodycam shows him running toward the burning car on the busy highway.
"I could not even see inside the vehicle," said Swisher. "The only thing I saw was hands, and it was the driver trying to get his door open from the inside."
The smoke inside the car made it difficult for the cop to see the driver. When he tried to open the door, the handle broke right off.
The Situation Became Dire
Swisher then took a window breaker and smashed the driver's side window before telling the man to "come out through the window."
The cop then pulled the man out of the window to safety. He then verified that no one else was in the car, just as flames burst out of it.
Swisher and the car's driver did not sustain any injuries. However, some of Swisher's arm hair was burned away during the incident.
The officer's heroic efforts did not go unrewarded. He was awarded the Southlake Police Department's second-highest honor: the Meritorious Conduct Award.
Despite the award and praise from his peers, Swisher remained humble.
He said, "I think I speak for every Southlake officer when I say that if anybody had been put in that same situation, same circumstances, any other officer would have done the same thing."
You can watch the harrowing footage below.
