Toddler Survives Drop From Apartment Blaze

Deadly Inferno Forces Father To Let 2-Year-Old Fall 40 Feet To Safety

(CBS/AP)  A German photographer caught the heart-stopping moment when a father decided there was no other way to save his 2-year-old girl from a blazing apartment fire than to drop her out of fourth-story window.

CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports flames were sweeping through a crowded apartment block in the western German town of Ludwigshafen, sending stranded people to windows to gasp for air.

The building served as a refugee hostel for Turkish families, many of whom became trapped on the upper floors.

Tenants located on the lower floors of the building handed their children to German firefighters on ladders.

But the parents in the photograph were too high up, and made the harrowing decision to drop the young girl to the crowd below. She was caught safely by an off-duty police officer who just happened to be in the neighborhood.

Not everyone was so lucky; nine people - including five children - died in the blaze.

It's not known whether the baby's parents survived.

Police found eight bodies in the building and one woman died in a hospital after the fire Sunday, police spokeswoman Simone Eisenbarth said. Twenty-two people remained hospitalized Monday.

"Unfortunately, we cannot exclude further victims," Eisenbarth said. Investigators were not immediately able to enter parts of the smoldering building because the structure, much of it made of wood, was in danger of collapsing.

The cause of the fire, which started Sunday afternoon, was not clear and the victims had not yet been identified, Eisenbarth said.

Police said 24 people - all of them Turkish citizens - were registered as living in the four-story building, but that more people had been in the house, celebrating a Catholic festival.

Police said the old wooden staircase of the building collapsed shortly after the fire broke out.

[mythoughtsr]

Um, well someone needs to find out if they did survive! You can''t leave people hanging like that!

[tail_honcho]

Do your job and finish the *** story!

[eyewideopen]

From the other descriptions of the incident that I''m finding online, I think it''s probably fair to assume that survivors would be able to confirm their relation to the child...it will probably take them longer to identify who the parents may have been, if they''ve even reached their bodies yet. Sad story. Now I''m just waiting for the compassionate commenters who will say that they were illegal immigrants anyway and therefore had less status as human beings.

[cfin5]

That German Police Officer is the MAN!!! I hope he is alright too. That would be like catching a 5 gallon bucket of water,......can''t be to close or to far away to succeed in the catch. It''s always a worthy and noble deed to save a child,.....born or unborn!

[antoniof123]

I also want to know what started the fire not as well as if the parents lived or not.

[ramos937]

God bless the brave parents, the wonderful policeman and the kid. I hope the family is reunited and that the policeman is honored for his deed.

[amarillolesa]

We would all like to know the end of the story people but if the child''s family did survive I would guess they are burn victims. People who undergo severe burns are usually kept on enough pain meds.so they cannot feel the intense pain and they also do not do much talking. I guess the media could make up a pleasant ending but that would make those of us who want FACTS very unhappy. Life is not a fairy tale and does not have the happy ending in an hour or two like a movie.
I will be praying for the toddler and his family as well as all of the people in that fire.

[tollking]

Incredible story. Only question: Why were Turks celebrating a Catholic festival, and which festival was this, exactly?

[kfisch2]

Don''t the Germans have ladder trucks? Why weren''t they used?

[sadcar22]

That''s not brave! Brave is understanding the fact that the guy might miss the boy and instead jumping out with the boy in your arms so that your body breaks the fall.

[micronicman]

In response to Kfisch2: I am a firefighter and can shed some light on your comments. The first unit due was most likely an engine (pump, water, manpower) responding to a call of an automatic smoke detector activation. On arrival, they called for a second and possibly third alarm which would bring an aerial device (tower or ladder), additional engines, heavy rescue, multiple ambulance units, and additional manpower. By the time the tower gets there, there is a crowd in front of the building, and the driver cannot get close. Time frame: MAYBE ten minutes. The units on the scene are going to be concerned with search and rescue first, fire attack second. The only way to get to the people on the fourth flow is from the inside or by an aerial device. The fourth story is too high up for ground ladders to be used to get a civilian out. Try climbing a ground ladder into a fourth story window with 60lbs of gear on - I have. Not easy. These guys did the best job they could in a bad situation. Normally, by the time the alarm gets called in, the fire is at an advanced stage. People don''t dial 911 early - they wait until they realize it is out of their control. By then, it is very late in the game. Just my two cents worth... By the way, VOLUNTEER! 75% of the fire and EMS service in the USA is by volunteers and we are critically short of people! We need all the help we can get!!

[micronicman]

In response to Kfisch2: I am a firefighter and can shed some light on your comments. The first unit due was most likely an engine (pump, water, manpower) responding to a call of an automatic smoke detector activation. On arrival, they called for a second and possibly third alarm which would bring an aerial device (tower or ladder), additional engines, heavy rescue, multiple ambulance units, and additional manpower. By the time the tower gets there, there is a crowd in front of the building, and the driver cannot get close. Time frame: MAYBE ten minutes. The units on the scene are going to be concerned with search and rescue first, fire attack second. The only way to get to the people on the fourth flow is from the inside or by an aerial device. The fourth story is too high up for ground ladders to be used to get a civilian out. Try climbing a ground ladder into a fourth story window with 60lbs of gear on - I have. Not easy. These guys did the best job they could in a bad situation. Normally, by the time the alarm gets called in, the fire is at an advanced stage. People don''t dial 911 early - they wait until they realize it is out of their control. By then, it is very late in the game. Just my two cents worth... By the way, VOLUNTEER! 75% of the fire and EMS service in the USA is by volunteers and we are critically short of people! We need all the help we can get!!

[cfin5]

Posted by sadcar22 at 10:35 AM : Feb 05, 2008-------The BBC news showed pictures of the crowd below with the police officer holding up his hands as the child plummeted downward. To many people directly below,.....his decent could have killed several people......A big THANK YOU to the firefighters also!

[ladrtrk55]

Thanks, micronman, right on.
There are multiple reasons why a ladder or a tower was not set up yet on that building.
Crowds can be a factor.
Distance from the street to the building.
Power lines.
Traffic.
The ladder could possibly been out of service at another call.

As for sadcar...really. Have you ever jumped from a 4th floor window? Are you sure you could hold the child, control your fall, and land in such a way as to protect the child? You''d have to be a trapeze artist to pull that off.
Good call for the dad. I hope he made it out alive. If not, he knows forever his child is safe.

[jcat72]

I live about 20 minutes from Ludwigshafen. Yes, we have ladder trucks, but you have to understand this fire took place DURING the Carnival/Mardi Gras ("Catholic" festival mentioned in the article) parade. Thousands of people (regardless of religious affiliation) partying downtown, streets blocked off and all the fire trucks already out and about. That''s why it took an EXTRA 10 minutes to respond. If the fire had broken out any other time, it wouldn''t have had the opportunty to get so out of control before help arrived. Available ladders were even placed on top parked cars to try to reach as many people in the building as possible.
The Turkish government doesn''t trust the Germans to investgate the cause of the blaze, and is sending its own crew. Looks like this tragedy may get even uglier.

[orebama]

I pray the father made it, but if not he will always know that he tried to save his child first, and for that he is my hero.

[skirep56]

in response to sadcar22....are you kidding? Did I understand you correctly when you said that dropping the child to have a chance at life ("his decent could have killed several people") could have killed people. Realistically you can''t be serious. People would have observed the dropping of the child and tried to help back-up the police officer or... moved out of the way if they were concerned for their safety and therefore let the officer be on his own to catch the child. Can you clarify?

[Krazcarl]

sadcar22...The man best decesion he could in a room engulfed in flame and prayed someone would catch him he was in a desperate situation with no options and didn''t want to see his child burn if he had jumped out with the child it would have been a death sentance for both of them most likely. He hugged his wife the rest is history. Lost a friend to fire {camp} others with lifetime burns badly disfigured. He made the best choose he could at the time so your Monday morning quarterbacking is foolish and his god answered his prayer and his child is safe I''d say it worked very well.

[intewedm]

Good for them!

[roughrider53]

Classic escape from a fire engulfed building. This is what makes Cops and firemen heroes. Young Ahmet gets hurled out the window by his father who entrusted total strangers to catch his little boy and they actually did!

[roughrider53]

Classic escape from a fire engulfed building. This is what makes Cops and firemen heroes. Young Ahmet gets hurled out the window by his father who entrusted total strangers to catch his little boy and they actually did!

[roughrider53]

Classic escape from a fire engulfed building. This is what makes Cops and firemen heroes. Young Ahmet gets hurled out the window by his father who entrusted total strangers to catch his little boy and they actually did!

[roughrider53]

Classic escape from a fire engulfed building. This is what makes Cops and firemen heroes. Young Ahmet gets hurled out the window by his father who entrusted total strangers to catch his little boy and they actually did!

[timd52-2009]

God was with that child all the way down!!

[us_pfalzer]

Incredible story. Only question: Why were Turks celebrating a Catholic festival, and which festival was this, exactly?

Answer: Everyone (or nearly everyone) celebrates during "Karneval" in this region of Southern Germany. Though it is historically a Roman Catholic festival in the lead up to Ash Wednesday and Lent, most folks take it as a chance to party.

The fire that occured Sunday afternoon and its devestation was tragic. My work colleagues and I have been very moved by this disaster. The Turkish community is a strong one in the area and I hope that folks of other religions reach out to help their neighbors. My wife had friends who lived in the same building 10 years back and she mentioned to me that some skin heads had a club on the bottom floor until the city had them re-moved. They really did not fit in having a social club in a multi-ethnic neighborhood. Let''s hope this was not a racially motivated crime from some Neo-Nazis. Knowing the German authorities I am sure they are exploring all leads.

[ladyjaneg]

I don''t understand...why is everyone calling the child a boy when the article clearly says 2 year old girl? Just a question...maybe I missed something?

[skilibre]

Some good news, a story on bbcnews reports that the parents survived as well, though the mother is still recovering in hospital.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7228880.stm

[leon2277]

If you see closely in the left corner of this pic you can see a ghost in the window getting ready to jump out and if you look in the right corner you can see the face of another ghost, there are a few in the fire but i doubt ya will notice them, but look closely its maybe a sign Well im happy for the survivors

[leon2277]

If you see closely in the upper left corner of this pic you can see a ghost in the window getting ready to jump out and if you look in the right corner you can see the face of another ghost. there is a few in the fire but i doubt they will be noticed, but look closely its maybe a sign. Imsorry for the nine people who lost their life but im happy with the safe catch made by the police and all the survivors

[leon2277]

Forget the first comment this is not a ghost this is really a femalestanding over the window trying to survive the fire while the baby is being trown i wonder did she make it