Newark Mayor Cory Booker saves woman from fire

Mayor Cory A. Booker of Newark, N.J., rescued a woman trapped in a burning house Thursday night and carried her to safety.

Booker was treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital and released. He also suffered second-degree burns on his hand.

The New York Times reports that Booker arrived at his Newark home after taping a television interview and found a neighbor's house ablaze. Before firefighters arrived on the scene, the mayor and two members of his security detail entered the house and helped the residents get out safely.

Booker then heard a woman screaming for help on the second floor and went back inside.

"I just grabbed her and whipped her out of the bed," Booker told The Star-Ledger.

Booker posted a Twitter message shortly after the incident: "Thanks 2 all who are concerned. Just suffering smoke inhalation. We got the woman out of the house. We are both off to hospital. I will b ok."

The mayor added that one of his security officers had tried to stop him from going inside. "We actually get into a fight because his job is to protect me," Booker said.

Newark Fire Chief John Centanni said Booker and his security detail performed a professional rescue and that their actions may have saved the woman's life.

Not many people would have thought to do what Cory Booker the man did, let alone a politician.

Brantigny