First responders are trained to make split-second decisions in life or death situations. So when one Tennessee firefighter saw a desperate father dangling his baby out the window of a burning building, he knew exactly what to do…
Shortly after the Knoxville Fire Department received a call about a local apartment on fire, a crew immediately made their way to the scene. However, by the time they arrived, several people trapped in their apartments were sticking their heads out windows for air as thick, black smoke poured out.
Knoxville Senior Firefighter Eric “Bo” Merritt spotted a man dangling a newborn out a third-story window and knew he had to do something fast to save the baby even though the crew had no idea what the state of the fire was inside yet. “There was a lot of smoke coming from that particular window. I didn’t think it was the best for a baby to be in a smoky environment,” Merritt said.
“So before we even got the ladders set up, I told him to drop it – and hope for the best. He thought about it for a second and I guess he realized, too, that was the best option. I didn’t know how bad it was on the inside, if the fire was growing or not, so I didn’t want to take the chance of the baby staying up there.”
“(The baby) cried a little bit but he was fine,” Merritt said about the baby that was dropped from a window about 25-30 feet above the ground. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right place at the right time. Anybody with KFD would have done the same thing in that situation… Everything went amazing. Everybody got out. And that’s the whole goal. Hopefully, it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I don’t have to ever do that again. We don’t train for it.”
Watch the entire video below to see the incredible way this firefighter saved a baby from a dangerous house fire.
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[Featured image: News Sentinel]
Fireman Catches Baby Dropped Out Of A Burning Building is an article from: LifeDaily