Two Detroit neighbors are being hailed as heroes after they saved children trapped in a burning home Tuesday morning.
The fire broke out just before 10 a.m. at a home on San Juan, near Livernois and 8 Mile. Six people were inside when flames and heavy smoke quickly filled the house.
Timothy “TJ” Davis, one of the neighbors, told said he was checking his mail when he heard cries for help.
“I was actually able to kick the side door open so that they can get out. And then from there, I had to run in the kitchen to grab her another one. … When I kicked in the door, it was full of smoke. Black smoke. … The mom actually told me that the son was laying on the floor in the kitchen. So at first I couldn’t see him, so I actually had to crouch down on my knees to actually see him.”
Angie, another neighbor, caught a baby the father had to throw from a window. She also helped break out windows and urged others to grab crowbars before firefighters arrived.
“Everything was y’all just, it was so fast and so quick. And he went in and got that baby and brought that baby out. That baby was laying on the ground. The baby wasn’t breathing at first. … Then the baby started breathing. Then the neighbor came over and she kept pushing on the baby. … I’m just one of the people that want to help.”
In all, neighbors saved two toddlers, while firefighters rescued a teenager from inside. The children’s mother and father also survived and were transported to the hospital.
Two of the children, ages 3 and 14, remain hospitalized in critical condition. The children’s grandmother died at the scene.
The Detroit Fire Department says the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
