Comcast technicians Shawn Bronson and Michael Payne were battling frigid conditions to restore service to customers in Monson when the sight of a 2-year-old girl wandering into traffic in nothing but a diaper stopped them cold.

“She had no socks, no shoes, and she happened to be heading right toward the middle of the road, which is where we intercepted her,” Bronson said last night of the moment he slammed on the brakes and blocked off traffic on Main Street, allowing Payne to scoop up the shivering toddler and rush her into nearby Woodbine Country Store.

“She was shaking, she was a different color,” Bronson said. “We just started taking off our hats and jackets and trying to get her wrapped up as well as we could while we got her inside the store.”

Once they were all inside the country store Thursday afternoon, Bronson said a clerk who recently gave birth rushed into a back room and retrieved a blanket from her baby bag. The clerk, they said, even gave the little girl a stuffed horse to play with until police arrived.

Bronson and Payne, both 44 and of Monson, said they just did what they’d hope anyone else would do when faced with that situation.

“Our top priority was getting her to safety,” Payne said. “We just wanted to make sure this little girl was taken care of.”

Both their employer and Monson police applauded the men for springing into action and preventing what could have been a “tragic” situation.

“They did the absolute right thing, they saw a situation and reacted, and the company is extremely proud of them.” Comcast spokeswoman Elizabeth Walden said. “In a situation like that, you have a gut response, and they did the right thing.”

The girl was taken to Wing Hospital to be evaluated, police said.

At the time the toddler was found wandering through the small western Massachusetts community, the temperature was hovering around 9 degrees, though the wind chill had it feeling like it was well below zero, according to the National Weather Service.

In those conditions, experts say frostbite can take hold within 30 minutes.

“We commend these workers, who are also Monson residents, for their quick action leading to a positive outcome,” police said, noting the situation could have had “tragic consequences.”

The 2-year-old’s father, who police said was “completely unaware” that she had wandered off, is now facing a charge of reckless endangerment of a child, police said, and the state’s Department of Children and Families has been notified.