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Beyond the Badge: A New Year's Eve fire rescue

On New Year's Eve, flames ripped through a Virginia Beach apartment complex. Thanks to the heroic actions of two VB police officers, multiple people made it out of the building alive.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- Virginia Beach Police Officers John Hlebinsky and Norman Teague got a call for a structure fire on December 31, 2017.

When Officer Hlebinsky showed up to the scene, he immediately heard two women screaming for their lives from a balcony. He tried to climb the balcony to get to them, but it was already fully engulfed in flames.

“I had them lie down as close to the ground as possible for oxygen and I just held onto them,” Hlebinsky said.

PREVIOUS STORY: 2-alarm fire in Virginia Beach destroys eight apartment units

Officer Teagan arrived just 45 seconds later and helped Officer Hlbinsky comfort the women until the fire department arrived.

Officer Teague recalled, “We know there’s no way we can get these ladies off the balcony without dying in the process.”

Credit: 13News Now

Luckily the fire department showed up shortly to rescue the women, but the police officers knew their work wasn’t done. They searched and evacuated every apartment home in the building and together, they saved seven lives that day.

These officers put their own lives on the line and suffered injuries from smoke inhalation, but it didn’t go unnoticed. On May 11, they were awarded the prestigious Silver Cross. This is an award given to officers who go above and beyond while making sure the public’s safety and well-being comes first.

All this week on 13News Now Daybreak, we're highlighting local police officers who went beyond the badge to serve their communities.

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