Kalamazoo Officer Catches Baby Dropped From Burning Home, Then Helps Rescue Mother

FOX 17 reported that Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer Michael Arnett caught an infant lowered from an upstairs window during a house fire, then helped get the baby’s

By Joy

Published Jun 3, 2026 Updated Jun 3, 2026 Verified sourcing

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety bodycam still via FOX 17 showing the house fire scene where Officer Michael Arnett caught a baby from an upstairs window

Watch the source-hosted bodycam rescue video

FOX 17 published the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety bodycam video showing Officer Michael Arnett arriving at the burning home, positioning below the upstairs window and helping bring the family to safety. The player below streams the source-hosted video; ThinBlueNews is not re-uploading or rehosting the file.

Video source: FOX 17 / Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety bodycam video.

A Kalamazoo, Michigan public safety officer is being credited with a dramatic life-saving catch after a mother trapped in a burning home lowered her baby from an upstairs window.

FOX 17 reported, citing the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, that officers arrived at a house fire on Washington Avenue near James Street around 4 p.m. Friday and found flames coming from the roof.

According to the report, dispatchers were on the phone with a mother who said she and her baby were trapped inside. Body camera video showed the moment communication was lost, and then an officer spotted the mother at an upstairs window.

The officer, identified by FOX 17 as Officer Michael Arnett, told the mother to kick out the screen and drop the baby to him. Arnett caught the infant, handed the child to another officer, and then placed a ladder beneath the window so the mother could get out safely, according to the report.

FOX 17 reported that both the mother and baby were okay. The outlet also reported that Arnett checked for anyone else inside, then put on turnout gear and helped fight the fire.

Arnett told FOX 17 that he has a baby of his own and knew the priority was getting people out of the home. “Property can be replaced. Obviously lives can’t,” he said in the interview.

The source video is powerful because it shows the chain of public-safety work in real time: dispatchers staying connected, officers moving toward a burning house, a mother making a split-second decision, and an officer ready to catch a child before helping the mother escape.

ThinBlueNews is using a respectful bodycam still of the fire scene rather than a close image of the infant or mother.

Sources

FOX 17: WATCH: Kalamazoo officer catches baby dropped from window of burning home

Video/still attribution: Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety bodycam video as published by FOX 17. ThinBlueNews will update this story if additional official information becomes available.