An off-duty Boston firefighter became a hero on Sunday morning, catching a baby tossed by his neighbor, the tot's desperate mother, from the second story of a Hyde Park home engulfed in flames.
Department spokesman Brian Alkins said the firefighter was unaware of what was going on until he went outside and saw that the back of the house was on fire, and then he saw the lady hanging out the window with her baby.
The firefighter, who the Boston Fire Department did not name, moved under the window of the burning home and told the mom, Luzmar Centeno-Valerio, to drop her baby. According to Alkins, the infant made the two-story drop into the firefighter's arms. Centeno-Valerio followed suit quickly, jumping from the window as well to save herself from the fire, according to the Boston Herald.
The fire broke out on Sunday morning
Alkins said the details are not clear at this point, but both the one-year-old's dad and his 16-year-old daughter were also able to escape the burning residence at Hyde Park shortly after the dramatic rescue of the baby.
The fire broke out around 7 a.m. on Sunday with the two-alarm blaze starting in the back of the 22 Norton St. multifamily building, according to the fire department. The flames then spread to both the first and second floors before the firefighters arrived on the scene.
Alkins said that another off-duty firefighter in the neighborhood was first on the scene. He took in the raging blaze and immediately called in to raise it to a second alarm. That was when the other off-duty firefighter, who lives in the building, displayed his heroics, rescuing the baby girl and the mom out back, WCVB reported.
According to Alkins, the fire department took about half an hour to contain the blaze. Both stories at the back were scorched by that time, and the fire had spread to damage the roof over other parts of the building.
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Anderson Centeno sets up a GoFundMe page to help family
The couple suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while one firefighter was evaluated and treated on scene for smoke inhalation. According to a department tweet, seven residents were displaced because of the blaze, and the fire totaled about $500,000 in damages.
Luzmar Centeno-Valerio's adult son, Anderson Centeno, set up a GoFundMe page for his family shortly after the fire. He confirmed in the post that both Centeno-Valerio and her husband, identified as Tito Esteban, suffered injuries, but they will recover.
There was some sad news regarding the family's property and belongings. Anderson wrote that their possessions were largely lost, and the recovery will be long physically and mentally. People have started to donate money to help the family, with over $3,000 raised by Sunday afternoon. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, according to NBC Boston.
