Eleven people were rescued from a massive fire in Brockton early Thursday morning.
NewsCenter 5's Angelica Thornton reported that flames broke out in a triple-decker on Montello Street just before 6 a.m.
Witnesses said people trapped by the flames and smoke jumped to safety. A baby was dropped to a rescuer below.
"There was flames coming out through the windows when I entered the house," said Russell Reynolds.
Reynolds was on his way to work when he saw smoke coming from the building.
"My adrenaline was high -- to hear the screams from the people to get them out of the house," he said.
Reynolds said he yelled for everyone to get out, but the first and second floors were already engulfed.
"Every door we touched was hot. Every window -- smoke. There was no way out," said Sherry Stafford, 43.
"If it wasn't for him, I think one of us would have probably died, especially the baby," said resident Ashle Sanon.
Reynolds said he saw man and three children in a second-floor window gasping for air.
"I couldn't breathe. I was coughing and wheezing and I stuck half of my body out the window," said Sanon.
"(The man) was holding the baby, swinging her in the air. I said, 'Let go of the baby, drop the baby, I got the baby.' And he just looked down through the smoke and he just dropped her and I got the baby perfect," Reynolds said.
Reynolds helped Sanon and her sisters, ages 2, 7 and 12, escape the flames.
"We couldnt see the hand in front of our face -- just smoke," Stafford said.
Firefighters rescued Stafford, her infant granddaughter and two other women from the blaze. In all, 11 people were sent to the hospital. All of the victims are expected to survive.
"It is not an experience that I would ever want to go through again," Reynolds said.
"He is a savior. He was a godsend," neighbor Lenora Figueroa said of Reynolds.
Some residents blamed the building's first-floor tenants for the fire.
"Drugs don't compromise. Drugs dont think," said Stafford.
State police arson investigators were called to the scene after an accelerant was detected around the building.
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