Watch Man Catch Baby During TX Blaze
Nov. 21 -- When Byron Campbell realized people were jumping from their upper-floor windows to escape flames that were rapidly consuming an apartment building, one resident stood out: a baby.
"My first reaction was, don't let this baby hit the ground," Campbell, 21, said Wednesday after a young mother broke her third-floor apartment window and screamed for someone to catch her little girl.
Campbell and others responded to the fire, which broke out about 7 a.m. Wednesday and destroyed the Meadows at Ferguson apartment building in the 11000 block of Ferguson Road, near Interstate 635 in Far East Dallas.
"Despite the excellent work of firefighters, the real heroes showed up prior to the arrival of DFR," Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said in a written statement.
Dallas Fire-Rescue confirmed that five residents jumped and the baby was dropped to safety from the third floor.
The fire destroyed 24 units and displaced about 40 people, officials said, and two residents were taken to local hospitals with injuries not expected to be life-threatening.
The extensive damage prevented DFR investigators from entering the building, which the property decided to demolish, so the fire's cause will likely never be determined, Evans said.
While the other residents jumped onto mattresses that others had thrown to the ground, Campbell was the only person standing between the baby girl and the ground.
"The young mother was holding her baby and yelling, 'Can somebody catch my baby?'" Campbell said. "I just said, 'Trust me, I'll catch her!'"
The baby was crying and apparently had inhaled smoke, Campbell said, adding that the child and her mother were taken away in an ambulance.
About 50 firefighters responded to the blaze, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said. One firefighter was taken to Parkland Hospital with burns on his arm, but was discharged by Wednesday afternoon.
Several residents and bystanders pitched in, going door-to-door to alert others to the flames, Evans said.
Campbell isn't a resident of the apartments but saw the fire in the distance and drove to it. When the baby appeared on the balcony, he held out his arms as if he were a football player catching a pass, he said.
He received congratulations from several police officers and firefighters afterward.
"I just knew I had to do it," Campbell said. "I'm glad ... [the mother] trusted me."
Staff Writer Sara Coello contributed to this report.
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