Police swarmed the Culpeper home at 7:45 p.m. after residents called 911, reporting thick smoke pouring from the windows.
Officers Ashley Sain and Neal Coffey entered without protective gear, locating a locked bedroom with flames seeping through the cracks.
Coffey used a pry bar to open the door, then crawled through the smoke with a flashlight, finding an unconscious man on a bed.
The four officers, joined by Sergeant David Cole and Officer Michael Beel, hauled the victim out while firefighters extinguished the blaze.
The man was air‑lifted to the regional burn centre; authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.
On Oct 14, the Culpeper Police Department presented valor awards to all four officers; three were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.