A brave sheriff's deputy rescued a baby from a balcony in a burning Orlando apartment building in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The fire took place at the Isles at East Millenia apartments on Lake Fountain Drive. Deputy William Puzynski was patrolling nearby when he received a call about the two-alarm fire, reported clickorlando.com, a local news website.

"When I got here, we saw the building fully engulfed. It was chaos everywhere," Puzynski said, according to the website.

He said he saw families trapped on each floor of the three-story building, with people desperately hanging on the balconies. "And then I saw on the third balcony there's a 1-year-old baby that the mom was trying to get over. At that moment I knew I had to save the baby," Puzynski said.

He scaled the building with help from his fellow deputies.

"And then I just climbed up to the third, grabbed the baby and then again I handed the baby down to my partners, and they helped me down," he said. "Afterward, when the mom came and found me, she actually gave me a hug, so it was rewarding."

Firefighters threw ladders onto the building and were able to rescue seven more people who were trapped in the building, said Orange County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Steve Sherrill, clickorlando.com reported. Crews stayed on the scene, monitoring the building for any flare-ups.

OCFR said 12 units were impacted. Power was shut off to the building, forcing residents in all 24 units to leave.

The apartment management and Red Cross are helping displaced residents find places to stay, according to clickorlando.com.

Orange County officials said three people were hurt in the fire, including a child. Two firefighters were injured and transported.

OCFR said the fire's cause is unknown and apparently started on the first floor. The state fire marshal is investigating.

Related stories:

• 2 in Wisconsin Die Attempting Fractal Wood Burning

• DeSantis Signs Anti-Woke and Disney Measures Into Law