HPP– Brave firefighters in New Jersey rescued a 1-year-old infant and a teenager who found themselves trapped in a house engulfed in flames.
On Friday, Dec. 6, firefighters in Jersey City tackled a fire on Princeton Avenue at approximately 1 p.m., resulting in over 20 individuals being displaced as the flames spread.
Emergency personnel were informed that the youngest individual was merely 15 months old, discovering the infant unresponsive in one of the rear bedrooms.
Despite the child showing signs of breathing, officials reported that she remained unresponsive and was later transported to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.
“It wasn’t like laying on top of the bed, it was somehow against the wall — so it was difficult to find the baby, but they found it pretty fast and got it out,” Jersey City Fire Chief Jack Johnson said regarding the rescue efforts.
“We’re doing the search for the kid in complete fire and smoke conditions and the guys did a great job being able to locate the kid that was on a bed towards the wall,” Johnson added.
Residents who communicated with nearby media reported that the 17-year-old sister was supervising the young child during the house blaze. As the fire engulfed the home, her desperate cries for assistance echoed through the chaos.
“I just run. I see the house is on fire. She has no clothes on just a T-shirt and underwear so I give her my jacket and shoes and say, ‘Do you want to go to my car?’ ” Tevin Mwangi said.
“She’s telling me there’s a 15-month-old baby inside toward the back of the house,” he said, adding that he and another neighbor called 911.
“She’s crying, coughing, and has black smoke all over her body. So, I assumed something is going on,” he said. “I checked the house, and all of a sudden I saw fire is engulfing the house, smoke is pouring out, and I knew I had to call 911. She did tell me she had a younger sister, around a 15-month-old baby, inside the house.”
Seventeen adults and six children have been forced from their homes, with a resident known as “Eddie” reporting the tragic loss of his pets in the blaze.
“We have to leave him now until we come back tomorrow to find a place to bury him,” Eddie said of his family dog, Max, the New York news station reported.
The American Red Cross is providing assistance to the families impacted.