"There was tremendous amounts of black smoke in the house we couldn't see too far into the house," said Officer Scott Thiel.
But police officers Scott Thiel and Jimmy Dangen didn't back down.
They knew there were at least two people in distress inside this home in Albertson as smoke was ripping through it Tuesday morning.
"Kicked open the front door and we realized the first victim was lying in front of the door," adds Thiel.
The female victim in her late 80's is now in critical condition at the hospital.
Her husband, who was in his 90's was severely burned on his body.
He was alive when Thiel and Dangen first pulled him out but died minutes later.
Crews got the fire under control quickly but say it spread rapidly because of all the clutter in the house.
"It was a hoarder type of situation. Bags of clothes and shoes. It was hard to find the second floor the stairs were all cluttered the doors were closed and there were boxes in front of it," said Asst. Fire Chief Joel Melamed of the Albertson Fire Department.
Rescue officials thought at first the couple's son may have been inside, but they were the only two.
