HOBART, Ind. -- A woman dropped her 3-year-old son from the window of her burning second-floor apartment and jumped to safety along with her boyfriend yesterday morning (Aug. 10), according to The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Rosa Alvarez and Jose Perez were awakened in the early morning hours by a man banging on their front door. When they opened the door, they were met with flames and retreated back into the room.
Perez then knocked out the screen to the windows and dropped Alvarez's son to the man below and both of them jumped. The boy was uninjured, but Both Alvarez and Perez suffered injuries. After escaping the fire, Perez laid on the ground, unable to move after sustaining back injuries in the fall.
Alvarez was sent to St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, and she said Perez was sent to Porter hospital in Portage.
Seven other families were left homeless after the fire destroyed the Shelby Place Apartments, according to the report.
Two other residents suffered smoke inhalation.
Firefighters responded to the two-story, eight-unit building at approximately 5:30 a.m. and when they arrived it was fully engulfed, Assistant Fire Chief Fabian Martinez told the newspaper.
Crews used aerial trucks to hit the fire from the top with water.
Fire officials said there were oxygen tanks in a first-floor unit that exploded during the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation with the assistance of the Indiana State Fire Marshal's office.
