The Anchorage Police Department today released dashcam footage of a dramatic roadside rescue that took place Sunday on Middlerock Road in East Anchorage.

“I thought I was literally going to die," the driver can be heard saying after police and passersby rally to free him from the flaming vehicle.

The man tells police that he is a firefighter who works for the state and urges rescuers to put out the flames before checking on him.

Read the original story below:

An Anchorage police officer and a group of bystanders rescued a man trapped in a burning car that rolled over Sunday in East Anchorage, the department says.

Police were notified of a single vehicle rollover on Middlerock Road at around 4 p.m.

“The vehicle was lying on its right side down an embankment and the engine was on fire,” police wrote in a statement. “The sole occupant, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was inside on the passenger side with his arm stuck under the vehicle.”

Police say Officer Veenstra was first to arrive at the scene and discovered that a witness had already broken out the vehicle’s sunroof to allow the man trapped inside to breath. Veenstra and the witness were soon joined by two other bystanders.

Together, the four people were able to rock the car and free the man’s arm, allowing him to exit the vehicle through the sunroof, according to police.