A truck driver and a police officer worked together to save a man trapped 35 feet in the air as his bucket truck caught fire. 

The incident happened on Thursday, April 16th in Santa Rosa, California at around 9 a.m.

According to The Press Democrat, the bucket truck was parked on Airport Boulevard near a traffic light as the man worked, hoisted 35 feet into the air. As the man worked, the engine compartment on the truck caught fire which caused the bucket controls to malfunction, trapping the man up in the air. 

A California Highway Patrol sergeant happened to be in the area and noticed smoke, so he responded to the scene. As soon as the officer realized that the man was stuck, he turned to oncoming traffic and flagged down a truck driver – this is where the quick-thinking rescue comes in. 

The sergeant then directed the trucker to drive beneath the truck boom, which allowed the trapped man to jump down onto the roof of the trailer and escape the flaming truck. The tractor trailer then drove a short distance away to avoid the flames, and the formerly trapped man was helped down. 

When firefighters arrived to quench the flames, the boom and bucket where the man had been trapped fell to the ground, showing that the officer and trucker’s quick thinking potentially saved the man’s life. No injuries were sustained in the incident. 

“Hero work by Sgt Harm and the big rig driver Efren!” the Sonoma County Fire District said in the Facebook post. “What an awesome deed done today!”