{"id":14402,"date":"2016-09-12T15:40:47","date_gmt":"2016-09-12T15:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/?p=14402"},"modified":"2016-09-12T15:46:46","modified_gmt":"2016-09-12T15:46:46","slug":"firefighter-rescues-boy-8-trapped-inside-burning-citrus-heights-apartment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/?p=14402","title":{"rendered":"Firefighter Rescues Boy, 8, Trapped Inside Burning Citrus Heights Apartment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watch the report HERE\u203a\u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

(CBS13<\/a>) \u2013 A Citrus Heights apartment went up in flames and firefighters rushed to save an eight-year-old boy trapped inside. The boy is recovering<\/span><\/span> after he and his parents were rescued from the burning apartment Friday morning<\/p>\n

The boy is recovering<\/span><\/span> after he and his parents were rescued from the burning apartment Friday morning.<\/p>\n

Around 12:30 a.m., residents on the 7600 block<\/span><\/span> of Greenback Lane were woken up in the most frightening way.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy god we were scared to death. I opened my door, and it was black in my apartment and I screamed get out get out,\u201d says neighbor Richelle Kellen.<\/p>\n

The apartment was on the second floor. Officer David Moranz of the Citrus Heights Police Department and two of his fellow officers were first on scene. After learning that an eight-year-old boy was trapped inside\u00a0they tried to make their way in but had to make a split-second decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a small child<\/span><\/span> inside there we wanted to go in. The whole front of the unit, the kitchen and living room, were fully engulfed in flames. We just couldn\u2019t get through the door with the heat and debris,\u201d says Moranz.<\/p>\n

As Sacramento Metro Fire arrived and took over, the boy\u2019s parents frantically searched for their son. At one point they ran into him, but lost him in the heavy smoke<\/span><\/span>. They eventually had to evacuate and made their way down from the second story balcony. Two other neighbors also had to be rescued.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately we put ladders to the building and moved the people who were trapped in an adjoining unit,\u201d says Fire Captain Colin Swarthout.<\/p>\n

Fire captain Joshua Leonard says all he could think about was finding the child. Making his way through the fire, Leonard eventually found the boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I picked him up he was completely limp\u00a0so I knew he was wasn\u2019t responsive,\u201d Leonard says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t feel him breathing as I was carrying him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard says the child\u2019s location in the house was like a miracle corner tucked away from the flames.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was on the floor next to his bed, the doors were closed and so all there was was smoke<\/span><\/span> in the room. He wasn\u2019t exposed to all the high heat,\u201d says Leonard.<\/p>\n

Carrying the boy out, time wasn\u2019t on the child\u2019s side<\/p>\n

\u201cAs fast as I could get him to an ambulance and get them out of there I grabbed him and ran,\u201d says Leonard.<\/p>\n

A medic with Sac Metro Fire, Matt Carlson, took the child<\/span><\/span> at that point.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to make sure we secured that airway quickly and made sure we got him to the hospital quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

And they did and the boy is alive because of it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"