Residents Toss Babies From Burning Homes In Paterson, New Jersey
PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Several residents have been displaced after a fire ripped through three homes in Paterson overnight.
The raging fire broke out around 11:30 p.m. at a home on Hamilton Avenue. Flames and thick smoke could be seen shooting out of the buildings.
Residents claimed good Samaritans caught children who escaped from the top floor windows.
One man said he was in the attic of his home at the time and his son was downstairs with their neighbors. He describes some of the rescues.
"They looked out the window and saw the fire so they heard the lady screaming and came outside and they tossed the babies from up in the attic," said resident Shermann Babbs. "Everyone caught the babies because the fire was in the second floor."
"I lost everything -- my keys to my car, my truck right there, gone," said resident Donavan Black. "Everything, my papers, my documents, my clothes. Gone. Everything. Just what I have on my back right now."
Black said one of his stepchildren was also rescued.
The blaze was finally brought under control hours later. Two of the homes were severely damaged, but officials said no one was injured.
People are just glad they made it out alive.
"If my neighbor wasn't outside, I probably wouldn't have made it out," said Babbs. "He was yelling and told my son to come get me."
The three buildings are each two-family homes. The Red Cross is helping displaced residents.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.