EDMONTON - An Edmonton man made a life-saving catch Wednesday when a baby was dropped from a third-floor apartment window by the child's father when the family became trapped by a fire.
"He was able to make the catch and it was quite amazing," said Tim Wilson, spokesman for the Edmonton Fire Department.
The 21-month-old child, named Jet, was not injured and his parents also managed to escape the flames safely.
Dan Marianchuk says he wasn't sure that he would be able to catch the falling child. But he shouted encouragement to the father who appeared reluctant to let go of the baby as he held it nearly six metres off the ground.
"I just wanted to reassure him that it was the right thing to do," said Marianchuk. "I just knew that it would be a positive (outcome) because for sure I'd break his fall."
The couple had tried to escape the building in Edmonton's west end with their son, but thick smoke in the hallway forced them to retreat to their apartment.
The father attempted to throw a mattress onto the ground to provide a landing spot for the child, but he couldn't get the mattress through the balcony doors.
The boy's mother, Vanessa Machiskinic, smashed a window with a chair and saw Marianchuk on the ground below.
"We saw that he had two sons of his own, little boys, and he didn't even hesitate," she said.
The boy's father, Adrian Key, held the baby outside the window and dropped him into Marianchuk's arms.
"I really didn't want to drop him, but I thought we were all going to die," Key said. "I just wanted him to be safe."
There were no injuries in the fire as most residents were able to flee quickly after hearing the fire alarm. But heavy smoke made it difficult for some people living in suites above the fire to get out of the building.
After their child was safe, the couple managed to escape the burning building without injury and were reunited with their son, who had been taken to a bus to stay warm in the frigid weather.
"They assessed the situation again and they were able to make it to the stairway leading out of the building, so they went down the stairs through the smoke," said Wilson.
The fire started in a second-floor suite and took less than one hour to extinguish. The blaze is believed to have been caused by a space heater and damage is estimated at $500,000.
"What this story highlights is the importance of having an escape plan in case of a fire," said Wilson. "This family made the best decisions that they could at the time and everybody escaped."
Baby dropped from third floor window to escape fire and caught by stranger
- Published on January 7, 2010
- Published on February 20, 2010
-
The Canadian Press
- Number of views : 1201
- Rate
- Top of the page
Comments
-
- Formally of Stellarton
- - February 22, 2010 at 14:32:02
In Oct 1991 I had to do the same thing in Stellarton when the apartment my wife,three children and myself cought fire. I smashed out the front window of the apartment and screamed for help. Two men who were at Jims Taxi ran across the street and I lowered our two oldest daughters down to them. I then lowered my wife. I wrapped my new born (she was 11 weeks) in a sweater and was about to lower her also when two men (not the two from the front window) came running into the apartment. At this time the entire building was on fire! One grabbed our baby and ran. The other told me to follow(I was still thinking the front window)so I followed in my sock feet. All I remember is everything on fire,floor, walls and ceiling as I ran out with these two men. The building burnt to the point that it had to be torn down. We lost everthing that day but because of the four men that helped that day our lives were saved. I never learned who the men in front of Jims taxi were. The two men that risked their lives by running into a fully engolfed fire to save my family were Agustus(Gussy)Macdonald and Neddie Fitt. We never had a chance to really say you men are our real hereos and thank you for risking your life to save ours. Please if you happen to know any of these men let them they are hereos.
Thank you,
Robert,Viola(Pearl),Linda,Samantha, and Christina.
(If you know the other two men or have picturs of the fire please e-mail me at leapinglinthorne@yahoo.com)
