Mahwah Officers Praise 9-Year-Old Girl Who Jumped From Balcony To Escape Fire

MAHWAH, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A young girl who jumped from a third floor balcony as smoke and flames shout out of a Mahwah building, shared her story and thanked the officers who saved her, on Wednesday.

"I was at home, saw black smoke coming from the door of my room," she told CBS2's Meg Baker.

Sofiya Doroshenko, 9, was home alone at the Society Hill condo complex in Mahwah on Tuesday afternoon, when an elderly neighbor started a fire in a microwave.

"Within minutes it was engulfed in flames," said neighbor Rachel Lawson.

As the flames spread, she headed for her balcony.

"I went out on the balcony and began to wave my hands," she said.

Mahwah Police Lt. Jeff Dino, Sgt. Brendan Mullin, and Officer Tom Solimano quickly realized the girl would have to jump.

"They said 'jump,'" Doroshenko said.

With no other way out, she did.

"Climbed over the balcony and I just jumped backwards off the balcony," she said, "I was thinking on the jump, don't be scared."

She said it felt like she was flying.

"When you jump in a pool and you fall on some soft pillows," she said.

This time she fell into the arms of three officers who were being hailed as heroes.

But they say the real hero is the 9-year-old girl who bravely jumped into their waiting arms 25-feet below.

"I was actually concerned that we were going to have to do a lot of convincing, it's difficult to get somebody to jump off a third-floor balcony," Dino said.

But the officers said it didn't taking much coaxing.

"I called for her to jump and she kind of looked down, released herself and just fell backwards into our arms," Dino said, adding that there was one thought racing through their minds. "Don't miss, just make sure you make the catch."

"That young girl jumped into the arms of an angel and those three angels will be remembered by our community for a long long time," Mayor Bill Laforet said.

The officers are brushing off the praise, saying Doroshenko is the brave one.

"I really think she deserves the most credit here because of the way she reacted," Mullin said.

"Very calm, cool, collective, not your average 9-year-old girl," Solimano said.

Sofiya's father was on his way home from work at the time.

"Big thanks to the fire department, police, very important. We feel the support of people around us," Zdenko Durove said.

Sofiya was grateful as well.

"I would thank them that they saved me," she said.

Firefighters said the flames started in the apartment of an elderly neighbor and the building didn't have sprinklers, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.

The fire destroyed six units in the complex, but no one, including Doroshenko, suffered injuries.

This was not the first tragedy that the family has endured, they lost their home in Rockaway, Queens to Superstorm Sandy. They said they plan to rebuild and were happy to have Sofiya in their arms.

A Go Fund Me page has been started for the family to help them buy new clothes and food.