Fireman catches baby thrown from 3 story window

[Schadenfroh]

Text
video is linked on CNN's main page.

Did not find anything on the search aside from a bunch of sick threads involving baby cutting and cat juggling. But, it probably is a repost.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York Housing Authority supervisor Felix Vasquez admitted Thursday he was scared when a frightened mother threw her three-week-old son from a burning third-floor Bronx apartment -- right into his arms.

"The mom was panicking," Vasquez told CNN's "American Morning." "A lot of smoke in the apartment, she was nervous. She said, 'It's either me or my baby.' She let the baby go, and, thank God, I was there at the right time."

Vasquez said he didn't have time to think. The baby -- not breathing -- landed upside down in his waiting arms, and he whisked him away and "gave him mouth-to-mouth." (Watch Felix Vasquez make the catch of his life as he saves the baby -- 1:38)

"It started crying," he said. "... and the fire department came over and did their part."

"Their part" included rescuing the mother.

"She's doing great," Vasquez said of the mother. "She took a lot of smoke in, but she's doing excellent."

"She came up to me, hugged me, kissed me and kept thanking me and thanking me."

Vasquez is the catcher for the Housing Authority baseball team -- which has won its division three years in a row.

The rescuer gave the baby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation -- a skill he picked up as a teenage lifeguard.

Tracinda Foxe, 30, was cornered by smoke and flames in the Bronx apartment on Wednesday when she went to the window with son Eric Guzman, The Associcted Press reported.

"God, please save my son,"' Foxe told the Daily News in Thursday editions, according to the AP. "I prayed that someone would catch him and save his life."

Moments after the catch, the AP said, firefighters D.J. Martin and Bobby Eustace burst into the burning apartment, found a hysterical Foxe and gave her an oxygen mask.

The New York Fire Department said the call about the fire came in about 8:22 p.m. Wednesday. The cause, fire officials said, was still under investigation but appeared to be the result of careless cooking.

Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

[Looney]

I use to know a joke based on this.

 

[slightlyhuman]

vid no worky

 

[Syrch]

that seems dangerous

 

[eelw]

Yes you won't be thinking rationally when in an emergency, but STUPID, STUPID, STUPID for taking that risk and dropping your baby out a window. I'm surprised that no limbs were broken during that catch. Just wait a few more moments for the fire dept to lift a ladder or get something that will actually break your fall if you have to jump out a window.

 

[her209]

I can't really say I blame her. Its like die in a fire or die in a fall. Oh yeah, and hindsight is always 20/20.

 

[BDawg]

CNN and NBC both said that the catcher was the building super, not a fireman.

Ironically, he plays catcher on the housing authority softball team. Soledad O'Brian interviewed him this morning.

Edit: That's what I get for responding to the topic and not the quoted post.

 

[xospec1alk]

not to be nitpicky, but i don't think it was a fireman that caught the baby was it?

 

[jagec]

HAIL MARY!

 

[DVK916]

Originally posted by: eelw
Yes you won't be thinking rationally when in an emergency, but STUPID, STUPID, STUPID for taking that risk and dropping your baby out a window. I'm surprised that no limbs were broken during that catch. Just wait a few more moments for the fire dept to lift a ladder or get something that will actually break your fall if you have to jump out a window.

When a infant stops breathing every moment counts. Waiting a few "moments" could mean a brain dead infant.

 

[SpecialEd]

The story about mouth to mouth is not consistent with firefigher training. You better believe ALL firefighters have current CPR training... not something they remember from being a teenage lifeguard.

 

[ragazzo]

Originally posted by: DVK916

Originally posted by: eelw
Yes you won't be thinking rationally when in an emergency, but STUPID, STUPID, STUPID for taking that risk and dropping your baby out a window. I'm surprised that no limbs were broken during that catch. Just wait a few more moments for the fire dept to lift a ladder or get something that will actually break your fall if you have to jump out a window.

When a infant stops breathing every moment counts. Waiting a few "moments" could mean a brain dead infant.

yes, i'm hoping 0 damage to the baby's brain :|

 

[lokiju]

"Ike, act like a football!!"

 

[BW86]

damn, thats crazy

 

[xeno2060]

Originally posted by: lokiju
"Ike, act like a football!!"

"Don't kick the Baby"

 

[Stuxnet]

Originally posted by: eelw
Yes you won't be thinking rationally when in an emergency, but STUPID, STUPID, STUPID for taking that risk and dropping your baby out a window. I'm surprised that no limbs were broken during that catch. Just wait a few more moments for the fire dept to lift a ladder or get something that will actually break your fall if you have to jump out a window.

If the baby wasn't breathing before she dropped it, she really didn't have anything to lose. I would have done the same. Sounds insane, but when you have no options, you make them for yourself.

 

[eelw]

Really, if this parent was stupid enough to drop her kid out a window, do you really think she would have realized that her kid had stopped breathing?

 

[imported_weadjust]

That guy is on my fantasy football roster. Damn I knew I should have started him this week.

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: eelw
Really, if this parent was stupid enough to drop her kid out a window, do you really think she would have realized that her kid had stopped breathing?

um, or maybe she was smart enough to realize that her kid had stopped breathing and thus had nothing to lose by dropping it out the window

 

[eelw]

Originally posted by: gopunk

Originally posted by: eelw
Really, if this parent was stupid enough to drop her kid out a window, do you really think she would have realized that her kid had stopped breathing?

um, or maybe she was smart enough to realize that her kid had stopped breathing and thus had nothing to lose by dropping it out the window

Yes, a mother living in the Bronx that started the fire herself from careless cooking has the smarts to realize her kid stopped breathing, decides that she must drop her kid 30 feet to a concerned bystander to offer CPR assistance. Dream on.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: SpecialEd
The story about mouth to mouth is not consistent with firefigher training. You better believe ALL firefighters have current CPR training... not something they remember from being a teenage lifeguard.

Its true its not consistent with firefighter training, but it is consistent with being a housing supervisor with no firefighter training whatsoever.

 

those of you criticizing the lady for trying to save her baby ---- do you have any kids of your own?

 

[speg]

A fireman didn't catch the baby... some housing guy did - gave it CPR and THEN the fire deparment arrived and resuced the mother.

 

[eelw]

Originally posted by: troytime
those of you criticizing the lady for trying to save her baby

Why yes, yes I am. Hmm, let's see, what offers a better chance of survival, waiting for emergency assistance or dropping your baby outside a 3rd story window????????? And how long did she wait to realize there was a fire than her kid had time to pass out and stop breathing from smoke inhalation?

 

Originally posted by: eelw

Originally posted by: troytime
those of you criticizing the lady for trying to save her baby

Why yes, yes I am. Hmm, let's see, what offers a better chance of survival, waiting for emergency assistance or dropping your baby outside a 3rd story window????????? And how long did she wait to realize there was a fire than her kid had time to pass out and stop breathing from smoke inhalation?

were you there?
were you sitting along the sidelines noticing exact details and timelining the situation?
Do you exactly how long that baby had been lying limp?

I don't think you do. And I don't think you have a clue of what its like being a parent.