66 Officers and Firefighters Honored for Heroic Rescues

When Officer Yash Shroff arrived at a fiery crash scene last November, he had only seconds to act before a car exploded with someone still trapped inside. His quick thinking, alongside fellow Officer Thomas Sites, saved a life that night and earned both men one of New Jersey's highest honors for bravery.

The two South Brunswick officers responded to a crash on Route 27 where they found an unconscious 26-year-old man in a vehicle that had caught fire. Shroff tried breaking the window with his baton, but it wouldn't budge.

Sites arrived moments later with a Halligan tool and smashed through the driver-side window. Together, they pulled the man to safety just minutes before the car exploded into flames.

"Everything happened so fast," Shroff said. "When I got there, the car wasn't smoking at all, and then in seconds it became engulfed. We were just there at the right time."

Both officers, who each have about two years on the force, credit their department's training and equipment for preparing them for that critical moment. Sites noted they didn't have time to react, just to act on their training.

The Ripple Effect

Shroff and Sites are two of 66 law enforcement officers and first responders from 19 agencies across Middlesex County being recognized at the annual 200 Club ceremony. The honored heroes include firefighters who rescued trapped colleagues from burning buildings, officers who pulled people from railroad crossings seconds before trains arrived, and responders who talked down armed individuals threatening harm.

"These recipients remind us every day of the extraordinary sacrifice and courage that defines our first responder community," said Dennis M. Kelly, executive director of the 200 Club of Middlesex County. The ceremony celebrates not just individual acts of bravery, but the culture of service that connects communities across the region.

Among the other honorees are Plainsboro firefighters who rescued trapped colleagues, Piscataway officers who saved someone at a railroad crossing, and Perth Amboy officers who pulled victims from fires. Each story represents a split-second decision to run toward danger when everyone else runs away.

The recognition shows how trained professionals turn ordinary shifts into extraordinary moments of heroism, creating ripples of hope that remind communities they're protected by people who genuinely care. These everyday heroes don't seek recognition, but their courage deserves celebration and reminds us that good people are out there making a difference every single day.