Good Samaritans Help Save Family From Burning Apartment

A woman tossed five children out of a Milwaukee apartment building to escape a fire, say witnesses who were on the ground catching the kids.

Firefighters say it all happened on the 2900 block of Mt. Vernon Avenue where a multifamily building caught fire.

Neighbors say the children were thrown from the second story. They say they even helped catch an adult.

“It was a little traumatic,” says one of the good Samaritans who did not wish to be identified. “We saved everyone and that’s what matters.”

The neighbor said he and several others who helped save the family were at the right place at the right time.

“I heard screams, a man came up to me yelling to call 9-1-1,” explains the neighbor. “While I was on the phone with them I was catching the kids.”

The neighbor says he was just getting home from work when it all unfolded.

“It kind of caught me off guard,” he says. “There were three kids and then there was one mom who jumped down, we caught her too.”

The Milwaukee Fire Department says the call came in just before 5 Thursday evening. They believe the fire started on the second floor and traveled to the attic.

Officials say five people were rescued from the building. One woman was taken to the hospital for a leg injury along with a child. Their condition is still unknown.

While some are calling the neighbors who stepped in to help heroes, other are calling their actions natural instinct.

“I don’t want to be called a hero; I’m just a person who was at the right place at the right time,” says the neighbor. “If it was my house I would want someone to come to help me too.”

The fire department says the damages from the fire are well over $100,000. They say the cause of the fire is still under investigation.