One of the two officers shattered the car window with his baton, they both fought through the smoke to get to the unconscious man and drag him to safety before a small explosion erupted inside the burning car.

It sounds like a scene from an action flick, but that’s the story behind how two Shorewood police officers saved an elderly man from his burning car on Jan. 21, as described by Shorewood Police Chief David Banaszynski.

Banaszynski said the officer's heroic effort saved the man's life and he, along with other village officials, honored Officer Deanna Otto and Officer John Schaal at a Village Board meeting Monday with life saving plaques for their daring rescue of an elderly man.

According to Banaszynski, the victim had suffered a medical condition while driving through the Shorewood High School parking lot and crashed into five parked vehicles. His car sparked into flames after coming to a rest at the northeast corner the lot.

Otto received her plaque Monday night, but Schaal couldn’t make the ceremony.