A former New York Giants football player saved a man from his burning home in New Jersey on Monday.
The Bergen Record reported former practice squad player Cole Farrand, 23, helped an elderly man escape the inferno.
Ferrand’s mother told him there was a fire in their Green Pond Lake neighborhood in Rockaway around 1 a.m. Farrand rushed to the scene and found the fire and saw flames shooting “20 to 30 feet in the air.”
One of the residents, Jean Moore, had escaped from the burning home, but her husband Jim was still trapped on the roof. Farrand rushed back to his home to retrieve his father’s extension ladder. He then helped Jim Moore down from the roof.
Farrand said the house was quickly engulfed by the fire and he didn’t have a chance to talk to the Moores after emergency crews arrived at the scene. Firefighters praised Farrand for his quick thinking.
"Then they needed a wide receiver and I was let go," he said.
All five of the Rockaway fire departments were called to extinguish the fire. Rockaway Fire Director Robert Sheard told The Record that the fire burned for seven hours and that his crew got it under control at around 8:30 a.m. He added that the frigid weather hampered their efforts.
"Because of the severe cold weather, it took some time to cut holes in the ice to get holes to draft water from the lake," Sheard added.
Investigators say the cause of the fire hasn't been determined.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.