3-month-old rescued from upstairs bedroom in Monroe house fire
A 3-month-old baby in Monroe, Michigan, was rescued from a bedroom after police and firefighters discovered a working house fire while responding to a 911 medical emergency call.
"What began as a medical call had quickly become both a medical and fire emergency, with two lives at risk. Without firefighters' thorough search of the home, the infant may not have been found," the Monroe Public Safety Department said.
The call to Monroe County Central Dispatch was placed about 11:43 a.m. Monday from the 400 block of Wadsworth Street, which is just a few blocks away from Monroe Central Fire Station on East Third Street. According to details provided during the call, a 20-year-old woman was having a medical emergency and reported difficulty breathing.
When Monroe police officers and firefighters arrived, "they quickly discovered the situation was far more dangerous than originally reported," the department said.
A fire on the stove had, by that time, filled the home with smoke, which the department said posed a threat to anyone inside. The woman who called 911 was found upstairs, unconscious but still breathing.
Firefighters dealt with the kitchen fire and got her outside for emergency medical attention. Monroe Community Ambulance then took the woman to a local hospital and she is expected to recover.
"Firefighters had no information or indication that anyone else was inside the home. After removing the woman, they conducted a thorough search of the smoke-filled residence for any additional occupants," the report said. "During that search, firefighters discovered an approximately 3-month-old baby alone in an upstairs bedroom. Firefighters immediately removed the infant from the home, and thankfully, the baby was doing well."
This incident, the report said, "highlights the importance of training, situational awareness, and never assuming the emergency ends with the initial call. We are proud of our firefighters and public safety officers for their response and grateful that both victims were safely removed from a dangerous situation."
