Woman, Baby Rescued From Fire

It was a close call, but a woman and her one month old baby are alive, after they're rescued from a burning building. Six people are homeless and a Springfield house has sustained hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. But the important thing is, everyone is alive.

It took the quick thinking of residents, and the brave action of firefighters, to make it happen.

Firefighters and neighbors surrounded the big six apartment home after flames broke out in the middle of the afternoon.

Lorraine Ruddeforth, Resident, says: "Just a big flame just erupted from the porch, and I could hear people on the next street saying oh my God, there's a fire."

Ruddeforth acted quickly, getting her second floor neighbor out of the house.

Marie Prevoust, Tenant, says: "I just put on my robe and went outside."

But, nobody could make it up to the third floor, where Crystal Parent and her newborn baby girl were living.

Coisanto Nieves, Neighbor, says: "She was stuck in there and I tried to help her out, but the only exit was the door over there and she couldn't get out. But lucky, the ambulance came, the firetruck, and helped her out, her and her baby."

The man who first spotted the flames and called 9-1-1 broke a window with his elbow to help those out on the first floor, but couldn't find a way up to the third.

Dennis Leger, Springfield Fire Department spokesman, says: "Upon arrival here firefighters had a woman and a one month old hanging out the third floor window asking for help saying they were trapped. "

Parent and the baby girl were carried out this window and down the ladder to safety. They were taken to Baystate Medical Center as a precaution for smoke inhalation.

But while firefighters made that heroic rescue the flames inside were building, and Thursday's windy conditions didn't do anything to help.

It took hours, and some work from the inside to finally get the flames out. But today neighbors won't be remembering what they lost, instead, what firefighters managed to save.

Lorraine Ruddeforth, Resident, says: "There are a lot of heroes in Springfield. You hear a lot of bad stories about what goes on, but there truly are, as you can see, some nice people in Springfield."

Springfield fire officials tell us this whole thing started with a carelessly thrown cigarette that ignited the leaves around it, and quickly spread to the house. The home suffered $150,000 in damage, and a neighboring garage was destroyed.