"There was a male coming down the steps inside the house who was actually on fire, his pants were on fire," said Sgt. McLaughlin.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A man is expected to survive after he was pulled out of a burning home by his son and two police officers on Sunday afternoon.
According to authorities, two Philadelphia police officers were finishing up a call around 2:45 p.m. when they saw smoke coming from a home on the 1400 block of Rush Street.
"There was a male coming down the steps inside the house who was actually on fire, his pants were on fire," explained Sergeant Ed McLaughlin.
Two officers and the victim's son helped bring the man outside to safety.
According to officials, the victim suffered from burns to his legs, but he is expected to be okay.
Sergeant McLaughlin says the timing was everything in this situation. He's proud of his officers' quick thinking to help bring the man out to safety before the fire department arrived.
"Especially out of the element, you know, you're always afraid to go into a burning house, but you know they do what they had to do," said McLaughlin.
No one else was home at the time of the fire, but Action News spoke with Carolyn Cospy who lived at the home. She thinks it was a cigarette that started the fire.
"Unfortunately, he was smoking, and apparently he must have fallen asleep and it caught onto the mattress and probably clothes," Cospy said.
Cospy only left about 15 minutes before the fire started. She says she's lived there for almost 30 years and that lot of memories both good and bad were made there.
Officials did not release any details about the officers who helped save the man.
There's no official word yet on what caused the fire.