DERRY, N.H. (WHDH) - A mother dropped her child to safety before jumping out of a burning building herself after a fire tore through their Derry, New Hampshire home this weekend, fire officials said.
Fire investigators say the pair were trapped in a burning duplex when the woman dropped her 2-year-old into the arms of other family members below. The woman then jumped out herself.
Both were taken to the hospital and are expected to be OK.
A neighbor said her dog first noticed something was wrong.
“She was nudging me, she was nudging my husband, so we got up to, you know, check what was going on,” said Donna Alex. “And she ran downstairs and when we ran downstairs, that’s when we can smell the smoke. We started smelling smoke and then everybody was screaming out here.”
Fire officials said the smoke detectors in the home did not go off.
The couple did have their bedroom door shut and firefighters say that is what most likely saved them.
“It’s of critical importance that people sleep with the door closed and in this case, it definitely saved their life,” Battalion Chief Scott Haggart said. “It bought them that time to become aware of the fire and escape through the second-floor window.
Two dogs perished in the fire. The family was able to locate their cat in the morning.
The American Red Cross is helping everyone who was forced out of the home.
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