Several people, including children, rescued from raging house fire in Mamaroneck
MAMARONECK, New York (WABC) -- Several people were rescued from a raging house fire in Westchester County on Monday.
The two-alarm fire broke out just after 5 p.m. at 912 Lester Ave. in Mamaroneck.
"I could see the mom and the child was outside, hanging outside the window," said neighbor Silvestre Arenas.
Neighbors watched as arriving firefighters quickly jumped into action to rescue a mother with a child and an infant from the second-floor window, trapped in smoke.
"They were able to figure out how to bring the baby down, get the ladder up and bring the baby down with the mother," Arenas said.
Arenas took video in the moments that followed.
The video shows the ladder up to the second floor of the home, but neighbors say the worst of the fire was in the back of the house.
"The back deckwas on fire," said neighbor Bill Sjostedt. "The back little porch was on fire. I could see in the kitchen window the fire had engulfed the first floor kitchen."
Resident Anibal Fuentes says the whole back wall was on fire. He was home with his children on the first floor when he heard yelling and smelled the smoke. Suddenly, he says the smoke was everywhere.
He says it was so bad he and the kids couldn't breathe.
His two children are being treated for smoke inhalation in a hospital.
Their mom is with them, he stayed behind to handle the next steps with help from the Red Cross, which is helping the families who lived in the three apartments.
Fuentes says the mom andkids rescued were his sister and her kids who live in the apartment upstairs. He told Eyewitness News they are 10 years old and 9 months old.
Fortunately, everyone is safe and recovering.
Fuentes says material things canbe replaced.
Neighbors are relieved but say it was terrifying.
"I thought about my children. Just being a dad and how she must have felt, how the father must have felt," Arenas said.
"I just feel bad for them. I feel very very sorry for them. They're all good people," Sjostedt said.
Neighbors and residents credit the quick action from firefighters for making sure everyone was out safely, but the damage is extensive, and they may not get back in anytime soon.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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