A pair of firefighters assisting at a Georgia apartment block fire have been praised for catching two young children who were flung from a third-floor balcony.
Captain Jackie Peckrul and Captain Scott Stroup from DeKalb County Fire Rescue were part of the response crew to the blaze Avondale Forest Apartments.
Captain Peckrul had been making her way up the ladder to the balcony to assist with the rescue when she was unexpectedly thrown a little baby boy.
Captain Stroup then managed to grasp hold of another young child who was flung from the building into his arms.
Captain Scott Stroup saves a child from the fire. Source: DeKalb County Fire Rescue
The footage of the scene, recorded on January 3 on another firefighter’s helmet camera, shows Captain Stroup clinging to the child as he rushes away from the fire. He then collapses onto his knees.
The local fire chief Jeff Crump said he “heard the screams” initially before realising that the flames were about five feet from the family on the balcony.
“The [firefighters] said it was something else; it was pretty extraordinary. We don’t encounter that very often," he said.
"Obviously, the parents trusted us enough to drop their children to our captains, and they made the catch."
At least 12 people sustained injuries in the blaze, but none were life-threatening.
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