A Dallas man saves a baby from a burning building by catching her in midair
A massive fire on Wednesday could have been deadly, but thanks to a group of real-life heroes, there were no fatalities.
An apartment fire in Dallas destroyed 24 apartments, NBC DFW reported. Two of the building’s residents, as well as a firefighter, were injured, but none of the injuries were life-threatening, the outlet said. However, things might have been worse if others hadn’t held up mattresses for the residents to jump onto after leaping from the three-story building. And if that weren’t heroic enough, one man caught a woman’s baby when she tossed her from the residence.
Byron Campbell, who caught the baby, told NBC DFW how he managed to save the 1-year-old. “[The woman] yelled out the window she was about to drop the baby. So my first reaction was go by the window and catch the baby,” Campbell told the news outlet. “When she dropped the baby, I caught the baby and curled him up in my hands.”
@DallasFireRes_q has extinguished the fire on Ferguson Rd, but the real heroes did their work before hand, as civilians and @DallasPD worked together to get residents to safety. 6 people, including a baby, jumped from the 3rd floor while they held mattresses on the ground. pic.twitter.com/gBW42MfuRA
— DALLAS FIRE-RESCUE (@DallasFireRes_q) November 21, 2018
According to a statement the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department issued on Twitter, six people, including the baby, jumped from the third story of the building. Luckily, the mattresses — and Campbell’s arms — were there to catch them and break the falls. Dallas News obtained video taken by local bystanders that shows the residents jumping to safety.
“I just told the mom I wouldn’t drop the baby,” Campbell told KARE 11. “Then she let go and I caught it. I held on like a football and didn’t let go.”
This is the young man who caught a baby as it dropped three stories up from a burning apartment, Byron Campbell made the catch of his life! This man is a hero!!! pic.twitter.com/G8nwyeq6zM
— Hannah VanHuss Davis (@hannahdinhd) November 21, 2018
The Dallas Fire-Rescue Department’s statement calls the civilians who stepped in to help their neighbors the “real heroes” in Wednesday’s events. “This is a great example of citizens and officers coming together to save lives,” Dallas Police Department Sgt. Mike Mata said in a statement on the department’s blog.
When an apartment caught fire in Dallas these neighbors grabbed mattresses, threw them on the ground then caught 4 or 5 neighbors, including a baby, who jumped from the third story. #heroes pic.twitter.com/XKCQaPUrqd
— Hannah VanHuss Davis (@hannahdinhd) November 21, 2018
The fire’s cause hasn’t been determined, and about 40 people have been made temporarily homeless by the events, Dallas News reported. The American Red Cross stepped in to provide assistance to those displaced by the fire, according to the outlet.
If it weren’t for the local citizens who stepped in before officials arrived, things could have been a lot worse. Campbell’s actions are a reminder that anyone can make a difference in a community, and he’ll likely be remembered as a real-life hero for years to come.
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