Not just quick thinking, but quick reacting leads police in Rice Lake to pull a man out of a burning building.

At one o’clock Friday morning, the Rice Lake Fire Department got a call to a house fire. Yet before they arrived, police officers had to clear the home.

Two officers and a sergeant from the Rice Lake Police Department found themselves inside this house, making sure the four people inside would get out… and then:

"The window panes started catching fire which allowed it in," says Rice Lake Police Officer Anthony Schnacky.

In moments, the escape routes closed in a hurry for Officer Schnacky.

“A million thoughts are going through your head," he says.

Only three had gotten out of the burning home. Now Officer Schnacky had to work to convince the final person, Allen Laney, to let go...literally.

“He was extremely nervous. The house was full of smoke and he didn't want to leave. There was no other option,” Officer Schnacky says. “The house had such smoke you couldn't see your hand."

As the police succeeding in getting Laney out, the fire department arrived to what they called "extreme fire and smoke conditions".

The house is a total loss, along with damage to a detached garage and a nearby building and vehicle. Damage is estimated at $275,000.

Yet in those moments where the body has to react, not think, the efforts of those Rice Lake Police officers were cited by the fire chief.

“They were at risk to themselves, but they got him out of the building," says Rice Lake Fire Chief Jim Resak.

As officer Schnacky points out, their fire training is a little less structured.

“That's for the firefighters! We get on the job training."

The fire department tells us Laney was taken to the hospital and has been released.