Three children are alive Sunday after they were pulled from a burning Temple Hills home by firefighters.
Prince George's County firefighters were dispatched for a house fire with children trapped on the second floor on Alcon Drive.
Firefighters from Silver Hill Fire/EMS Station 829 found fire burning in a first floor kitchen when they arrived around 7 a.m., according to Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department spokesman Mark Brady.
Lt. Michael Perritt split his his five person crew into two teams, with one firefighter taking the hoseline to combat the fire while he and two others searched the second floor.
"Despite high heat and near zero visibility the crews located two children in one room and an infant in another," Brady said. "The three children were brought down through the interior stairwell to the exterior where firefighters initiated immediate rescue breathing on two and cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the infant. "
Brady lauded his crews efforts, saying that the three children started breathing on their own. Four people were transported to the hospital and Brady said they were listed in serious, but stable condition.
A male who jumped from a second-story window to escape was uninjured.
"I would like to commend the crew from Silver Hill Fire/EMS Station 829," Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale said in a statement. "The entire crew worked cohesively as a team and followed direction from the officer in charge to ensure a quick arrival, adequate water supply, charged hose lines, 360 check of structure and assigned personnel to simultaneously extinguish the fire and perform search. "
Barksdale added that teamwork lead to the successful outcome.
"Their actions had an direct impact on saving these young lives," Barksdales said. "Medics continued treatment while transporting four home occupants to the hospital."
Eight people were in the home when the fire was reported, and Brady said a working smoke alarm alerted several of the sleeping residents.
