Neighbor catches kids dropped from burning Detroit home

Mother drops children from burning home in Detroit

DETROIT – Detroit EMS workers treated three small children and their mother who all were injured in a fire Friday at their home.

It's a good thing neighbor Jerome Simpson was there first.

"I'm so glad I was around because she was screaming and nobody was near," he said.

He heard a scream, then saw smoke and a woman leaning out of an upstairs window. She was holding three little children.

"From my viewpoint it appeared that the fire was behind her and she literally had the kids out the window," said Simpson.

Smoke was pouring out from around her. He believes the children were between 1and 4 years old.

"I asked her to drop them, you know, and she did, one at a time," he said.

Simpson caught each one cleanly and moved them away from the house.

"You try to focus on keeping them safe ... block out everything else," he said.

The mother made her escape by coming downstairs.

"I told her to get down low and crawl out. And she did. The house was full of smoke. She asked me to put the kids in the car," said Simpson.

The mother was rushed to Detroit Receiving Hospital. The kids were taken to Children's Hospital.

"I'm just so thankful to God that he worked it out ... I pray that (the mother) will be alright," said Simpson.


-- Jerome Simpson