This is terrifying…
When a group of Detroit firefighters responded to a house fire on April 5, they did not expect to find an 18-month-old child trapped inside the home. Now, an investigation is underway to determine whether or not the baby’s adoptive mother warned police of the baby’s whereabouts during the life-or-death situation.
The fire department claims that when they arrived to the house, none of the four adults who had already escaped the building discussed a baby inside. Instead, they allegedly only expressed concern over dogs in the basement. So, you can imagine how shocked and horrified the first responder’s were to discover the seemingly forgotten about child.
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Lavaughn Williams, the firefighter who rescued the baby, spoke with Fox 2 Detroit on Saturday, detailing the moment he caught sight of the kiddo, saying:
“I saw something out of the corner of my eye wiggling and it was a baby with some sheets over. And she was face down and she was wiggling like she was struggling to breathe. The smoke was heavy in the room, so my parental instincts kicked in. I am a father. Thinking of my child, I picked the baby up and ran out quickly as possible.”
Thank goodness he did because the fire had already escalated quickly. Williams shared he doesn’t “want to think about” what could have happened had he not gotten the baby when he did:
“There was a lot of black smoke in there. Arson is investigating so obviously there were alot of accelerants in the house. The baby was struggling to breath, that’s something I don’t want to think about.”
Upon getting the youngster outside, the firefighters discovered “the possibility of some bumps and stuff on the child,” according to DFD Battalion Chief Mike Nevin. Because of this apparent neglect, Nevin did not turn over the baby to her mother. Instead, she was sent to Detroit Children’s Hospital and is currently being looked after by the police and Child Protective Services.
In the days since the fire, an anonymous neighbor chatted with the outlet, demanding police were warned of the baby’s presence inside the building. She told a reporter:
“Due to that fire, they try to make it seem like oh she did something like she didn’t care about the baby or whatever and that’s not true. That is not true.”
Despite no mention of the child heard on the 911 call, the neighbor added:
“She did repeat herself, ‘I got 10 dogs and a baby in there.’ So I guess they didn’t hear or whatever, but I saw all the action because I was standing right there. Me and the neighbor across the street were standing right there looking and you heard her say, ‘I have a baby in there.’ I heard her say I have a baby in there and 10 dogs in there.”
Hmm… The Chief had a very direct response to this when questioned. Mike insisted:
“We pulled near 20 puppies and or dogs out of the building. (They) never mentioned, never once mentioned, a child in the building.”
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Incase that wasn’t clear enough, he finished:
“Absolutely not, and I’ve got 21 witnesses that wear black fire gear and hard hat helmets that’ll tell you the same thing. So no. That’s a big n-o there.”
Whoa…
The investigation is still unfolding with little information known at this point. Police were apparently contacted earlier in the day about a domestic disturbance, so that could hint at reasons for the chaos, but much is to be investigated at this point. One thing’s for sure: we are so glad that child was rescued alive and well!!
[Image via Fox 2 Detroit]
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