Woman Reunites With Police Officer Who Saved Her Life 43 Years Ago

The officer "cried like a baby" after receiving the first grateful Facebook message from the woman

A woman used social media to reunite with the police officer who rescued her 43 years ago from a Santa Ana, Calif., house fire that killed her mother.

Angela Basore, 47, now of San Diego, said that when she was 4, she woke up in her bed to discover that her room was on fire. Two police officers ran in and rescued her and her 3-year-old sister and newborn brother from the burning home.

“I heard a kid crying and I said to myself, ‘I gotta go in,’ and I went in,” said Harlan Lambert, the officer who pulled her out of the fire. “I couldn’t see nothing because of the smoke and I found her and pulled her out of the bed.”

Using Facebook, Basore tracked down Lambert and Jack Jakobsen, the other officer who assisted in the rescue, to personally express her gratitude.

“These guys give their lives every day for people like me and it’s an honor and privilege to meet you and say thank you,” Basore said. She gave gifts to the two retired officers when she met them.

Lambert, who was 33 at the time of the rescue, was Orange County’s first black police officer. He now trains dogs for law enforcement and said he “cried like a baby” when Basore sent him a message over Facebook, according to a press release issued by emailwire.com.

Basore now has two children of her own and her siblings reside in Texas.

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