This is the dramatic moment police officers broke through burglar bars to rescue children from a burning home.

Off-duty officers saved two toddlers trapped inside a house after it caught fire in Tokat, Turkey on April 28.

CCTV footage shows the responders prying open the metal window bars as smoke billows from within the property.

After a strenuous effort removing the grille, the two men climbed through the opening and pulled the boys to safety.

Moments later, concerned residents gathered outside and helped carry the children away from danger.

Local media reported that one of the officers lived in the same apartment complex and rushed to help upon noticing the emergency.

The children's mother, Gizem C., had reportedly gone to a pharmacy, leaving her sons, Oguz, 1, and Goktug, 3, alone at home when the fire broke out.

Police and firefighters were dispatched to the scene and extinguished the blaze. The boys were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.

Authorities said the toddlers were placed into state care by order of the local prosecutor's office, and social services have launched an investigation into their situation.

Reports added that the mother is currently in the process of divorcing the children's father.