A dramatic rescue was captured on video in DeKalb County, Georgia, where a firefighter caught a child who was tossed out of a burning apartment building earlier this month.
Footage from the scene showed Capt. Scott Stroup, a third-generation firefighter with the Dekalb County Fire Rescue Department, catching a little girl, cradling her and then running clear of the building:
She wasn’t the only child saved during the Jan. 3 blaze.
“We were catching babies like a football ― literally,” said Capt. Eric Jackson, per CBS News. “There were adults that were on the balcony that were dropping their babies right into our arms. We had a couple firefighters catching babies, so it was just really incredible.”
Capt. Jackie Peckrul caught a baby wrapped in a blanket.
“That was the only thing running through my mind... ‘Lord, let me catch this baby,‘” Peckrul told Fox 5 Atlanta. “My hands came off the ladder and I got ‘em.’”
Twelve people, including eight children, suffered minor injuries, and 79 were displaced by the blaze, the local NBC station reported. In addition, Stroup suffered a twisted knee, according to Inside Edition.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
“Great job by all hands operating on this fire as several lifesaving grabs were made that night,” Local 1492, which represents the firefighters, wrote on Facebook.