'I'll Catch The Baby': Acts Of Heroism On Display During Dallas Apartment Fire
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Six residents, including a baby, were forced to jump for their lives after a fire ripped through a Dallas apartment complex Wednesday morning. It was because of the quick acts of heroism by the community that no one was seriously injured.
The scene unfolded at the Meadows apartment complex near Ferguson Road and I-635 as crews worked to put out the two-alarm fire. Flames could be seen tearing through the complex from the third story, leaving residents without a home a day before Thanksgiving.
It took nearly 50 firefighters to extinguish the fire. However, the department said the "real heroes" came to the rescue of some of the residents who had to jump from the third story of the building in order to escape the flames.
"At least six people from the third floor who actually had to jump to safety. Among those six was a baby who they had to throw down," said Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson Jason Evans.
Those "real heroes" included Dallas police officers and residents who grabbed mattresses from apartments to provide cushion for those who had to jump. Dramatic video captured by a witness showed two people jumping from the third floor onto a mattress being held by those heroes.
As for the baby, the man who caught him was glad he could be trusted to save the baby's life.
"I told her to drop the baby down. First she hesitated. I told her I'm gonna catch the baby. So she finally trusted me, and she dropped the baby," said Bryon Campbell. "It's real crazy. It's my first time doing that."
In the end, two apartment residents were taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, and a firefighter was also treated for burn injuries.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
On Wednesday afternoon, Dallas Police released body cam video of the rescue effort.
Now, forty people are without a home just hours before Thanksgiving.
"They have nothing, not even an ID," said Rebecca Garcia, a fire victim's brother. "Not a tooth brush, not a purse, not a wallet, not a present. Not a bag of dog food. Nothing."
The fire department said the damage left behind by the fire was so severe the apartment complex demolished the building.
The extent of the damage also prevented investigators from making safe entry to conduct their investigation, according to the fire department.
The fire will most likely remain undetermined.