What started as a trip to the gas station for an off-duty Stockton, CA, police officer turned into a night of heroism when he saved two people from a car that crashed and burst into flames.

Officer Mark Afanasev and his wife were traveling down Sunrise Boulevard at Douglas Boulevard in Rancho Cordova when they witnessed the crash.

One of the cars involved immediately caught fire after the crash, so Afanasev jumped in to help.

"I realized I had to go there and help because there was nobody else around. I've never seen anything like that, I've never been part of anything like that, but the only thing I could think of was, 'There's people in that car, I got to help them get out. I can't let them burn in that car,'" Afanasev told KCRA 3.

He said the man involved in the crash was able to make it out on his own, and Afanasev was able to help the woman make it out of the car. Both victims were on fire when Afanesev reached them.