It takes bravery to be a police officer, but for someone with a fear of heights, it’s probably safe to assume most of the work will be done with feet on solid ground.

For one acrophobic Philadelphia officer however, preventing disaster meant going above and beyond the call of duty, literally.

Officer Eric Robbins was on patrol December 10th, among the two-storey houses on N. 64th Street, when he got a call from neighbors saying someone’s child was out and walking on the pitched-roof of a nearby house.

The child didn’t seem fazed about the 20-30 foot drop awaiting him. Robbins could feel it though, even from the ground floor, as he has a self-professed fear of heights.

“I just knew I had to get him off that roof,” Robbins told ABC 6. Gaining entry to the house, released body cam footage shows him charging up the stairs to the second floor, climbing out of the window and grabbing the child.

Arriving at the window, he realized his presence might spoke the wayward boy into falling off the roof, so Robbins snuck into position to grab him, saying “I don’t even think he knew I was there.”

Though unwilling to talk to the police at the time, the family, who were completely shocked, thanked Officer Robbins for his dedication “to protecting and serving with such compassion.”

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For his part, Robbins realized his acrophobia would have to wait.

“Instantly overcoming my fear of heights and getting him off the roof… it hit home because it could have been my kid and I would want someone to do the same,” he said.

WATCH the body cam footage below…