Bodycam Shows Chattanooga Officer Rushing Into Burning Home to Save Mother and Two Children

Chattanooga Police Officer Eli Rogers arrived before firefighters to a Hixson-area apartment fire on May 1, where flames were visible and neighbors said people were

By Joy

Published May 26, 2026 Updated May 26, 2026 Verified sourcing

Bodycam frame: Chattanooga Police Officer Eli Rogers rushing into burning apartment

A Chattanooga police officer is being praised after body-camera footage showed him rushing into a burning Tennessee apartment and helping rescue a mother and her two children before firefighters arrived.

According to KGW’s report, Chattanooga Police Officer Eli Rogers responded just before 10 p.m. on May 1 to a residential fire in the Hixson area. By the time he arrived, flames were already visible near the front door, and the fire was spreading through the two-story building.

Neighbors told Rogers that people were still inside.

That is when, according to the Chattanooga Police Department statement cited by KGW, Rogers “jumped into action.” Bodycam footage shows the officer moving toward the smoke and flames, entering the building and helping get the family out.

Police identified the rescued mother as Rachel Blaylock. KGW reported that Rogers helped rescue Blaylock and her two children, including 4-year-old Marlowe and 10-year-old Charles. The footage shows Rogers carrying Marlowe out while Blaylock followed with her older child.

“I keep thinking back, how was I going to get two kids down the stairs?” Blaylock told ABC News Channel 9, according to KGW. “He just grabs her, and he was willing to go back in.”

After helping the family escape, Fox News reported that Rogers returned with a fire extinguisher to help suppress flames on the front porch. Chattanooga firefighters later knocked the fire down within about 20 minutes, and no injuries were reported.

The Chattanooga Police Department praised Rogers in its public post, saying police officers are not trained as firefighters, but they do take an oath to serve and protect.

“CPD is proud to have exemplary officers like you,” the department posted, according to KGW.

For supporters of law enforcement, the video is a clear reminder of what service can look like when seconds matter. Before a headline is written, before backup arrives, and before the full danger is known, officers are often the first people being asked to step toward the smoke, the screams, the unknown and the risk.

In this case, Officer Rogers did exactly that — and a mother and two children made it out safely.

If there is an officer, deputy, trooper, dispatcher, corrections officer, firefighter, EMT or K-9 team in your town whose quick action deserves recognition, tell us their name, department, town and story in the comments so ThinBlueNews can consider them for a future hometown-heroes feature.