A Washington D.C., firefighter is being hailed a hero for rescuing a toddler from a burning apartment complex.
Jared McKinney, a wagon driver for Engine Co. 25, said he was responding to a fire on the first floor of the building when he saw a father holding a 2-year-old out of a second-floor window.
“Get my baby!” a man yelled.
“He told me … ‘catch my child, don’t drop him,’ and he dropped the child down, and I caught the child,” McKinney said.
McKinney, a father of two and a firefighter of 17 years, said he did not hesitate when he saw the man seeking help for his small child. It was not an easy catch, however. The toddler came down feet first, and McKinney had to avoid getting kicked in the face. Still, he sprung into action, caught the little boy under his armpits and held him to his chest.
“When he dropped the child down, I extended my arms, and when I felt the child made contact, I just cradled the child to my body,” McKinney said. He then put the boy down, away from the fire and smoke to safety.
“I told him to stay right here with me and everything would be OK,” he said.
The rest of the crew used a 24-foot ladder to save the boy’s sibling and parents. The two small children reportedly held each other while firefighters brought down their mother and father.
McKinney, a firefighter since he was 19 years old, said it is not a common occurrence for firefighters to catch babies from burning buildings. Still, McKinney rescued two other children earlier this year. So his “instincts kicked in” when he saved the toddler on Sunday, May 29.
“Didn’t have time to be nervous,” he said.
McKinney’s courage may run in his family. His father, Jackie McKinney, retired in 2016, after serving for 31 years also as the wagon driver for Engine Co. 25.
Seven people had to be checked by emergency responders, but no one was injured or hospitalized. McKinney said the father thanked him for saving his son.
“Me being a father myself, you always want to protect your kids. So I could definitely see in his face that he wanted to get his family to safety as quickly as possible by any means necessary,” McKinney said. “I was just glad I was there to help him.”
Earlier on Sunday, rookie firefighter Kojo Saunders rescued a woman from a different apartment building in D.C.
Saunders said he heard someone coughing in the smoke-filled apartment. He searched the area and dragged the woman out of the building. Saunders graduated from the academy just six months ago.
When asked how it felt to rescue someone so early in his career: “It feels nice to be able to do my job,” Saunders said.
