A Hackettstown police officer is being praised for rescuing an elderly woman from a house fire.

Police say the fire broke out just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday at a home on Thomas Drive.

Officials say first responders arriving at the scene found a 61-year-old woman had already been rescued by Independence Township Police Officer Rafael Ortiz. They told Hackettstown Police Officer Ryan Blankenship that a 91-year-old woman was still inside the house.

Police say that Blankenship was able to get into the house through a bedroom window. He lifted the woman off her bed and helped hand her out of a window to firefighters.

The woman was checked out by the rescue squad and did not appear to be seriously hurt.