New Jersey man catches kids dropped from window of burning home, rescues family of 7
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The house in Piscataway township in New Jersey was destroyed by the fire on March 10. The rescued family included a baby and a toddler that had to be dropped from a second-storey window.
PHOTO: PISCATAWAY TOWNSHIP/FACEBOOK
NEW JERSEY (PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A man risked his own life to save a family of seven from a burning home in New Jersey, United States, in the early hours of last Tuesday (March 10).
The man was identified as Mr Mario Reyes, a resident of Piscataway township, and lived across the street from the family. The official Facebook page of Piscataway township commended Mr Reyes for his act of saving two children by catching them after they were dropped from a window. He also went inside the burning house to save other members of the family.
"At one point, Mr Reyes caught a baby and a toddler that had to be dropped from a (second-storey) window by the mother," the Piscataway township said. "Mr Reyes also went into the burning house at risk of his life to save others, bringing one adult out of the house."
The family members have since been taken to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for treatment. The house, on the other hand, had been destroyed by the fire.
The New Market Fire Department, South Plainfield Volunteer Fire Department, North Stilton Volunteer Fire Company and the Arbor House Company all responded to the scene, while firefighters from the borough of Middlesex were on standby. Emergency medical services such as North Stelton Rescue Squad, River Road Rescue Squad, Hackensack Meridian Health JFK Medical Centre and RWJBarnabas Health were also in the scene.
Ms Bianca Clark Muhammad, another neighbour, was the one who called 911 as she went out of her home to see what was going on, according to an exclusive report of CBS New York last Wednesday. She has since also commended Mr Reyes for his bravery and called him a hero.
"This man was an absolute hero," Ms Muhammad said. "He caught babies, he broke down bars, and if they didn't react the way they did, I'm certain that no one would've survived that.
"We saw that he took the sledgehammer and he knocked out the bars that were on the basement window and we saw the man come out and so, I ran inside and I grabbed some clothes," she added. "They had no clothing on. They were in their pajamas, they were sleeping. It was cold out."
