If you want to know what it really looks like to charge into a burning building, body camera footage from a July 2020 barn fire rescue will give you a clue – and it’s as terrifying as you might imagine.

Bucks County, Pennsylvania’s Hilltown Police were called to the scene of the fire on July 23, 2020, at Red Wing Farm.

Officer Matthew Reiss and Officer Kristian Hanus arrived at the boarding stable before the fire crew and were told that while all of the people had gotten out, there was still one horse in the burning barn.

They described the scene as “chaos” as workers ran in every direction, chasing horses and fleeing the fire.

“Up until then, it was just a normal day. We were doing paperwork when we got the call for a barn fire on Hilltown Pike,” Reiss told the Bucks County Courier Times.

With the assistance of a farmworker, both officers went to secure the horse despite heavy smoke and visible flames.

When they enter, the camera footage shows flames coming from a pile of hay and the terrified horse named Phoebe hiding in a corner, paralyzed by fear.

“Give me a rope,” an officer says as the worker shouts at him where to find the horse’s lead.

Unfortunately, neither office knew much about horses, and the purple lead was attached to a halter that needed to be fitted on the horse’s face.

“I didn’t know how to put that thing on a horse, and there was no time,” Reiss told the Courier Times.

Luckily, his partner managed to get the horse turned around and they secured her.

“I don’t know how I did it,” Reiss said, “just got behind it and tried moving her in the right direction.”

But they couldn’t pull the animal out alone, so the worker comes in to help tug.

“Pull it, Kristian, pull!” Reiss yelled to Hanus.

As the flames expanded around them, the officers knew an explosion could take place at any moment.

The trainer assisting the officers tried to put a cloth over Phoebe’s eyes so she wouldn’t be too afraid to run, but it wouldn’t stay put.

It took a while, but Phoebe, a 22-year-old paint mare, finally budged from her stall.

When the horse got its wits about it, it realized it had a clear path to run from the barn.

Rescuers were relieved when she bolted out, congratulating each other on saving its life.

Both officers had minor injuries, including Reiss, who “ripped” up his hand a bit tugging on the lead.

By the time the Hilltown Fire Company (and 14 other companies) arrived, the entire barn was engulfed in flames.

The two-alarm blaze was also attended to by six EMS units from Bucks and Montgomery Counties who treated 8 people at the scene, later transporting 4 of them to area hospitals.

As you might imagine, the drama quickly went viral since there was footage available.

Now the officers are getting thanks from around the world and were recently commended for their bravery.

They recovered quickly from their injuries and Phoebe is also doing just fine.

You can scroll down below if you’d like to see the dramatic rescue from the body cam.

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Source: NBC Philadelphia, Hilltown Township Police Department, Bucks County Courier Times, WFMZ News