A passerby became a hero in Spring Valley on Saturday, saving an 8-month-old girl from a fire in a Spring Valley apartment building. The fire filled the building with smoke, making escape difficult for residents.
Jean Donald Mathieu, witnessing the emergency, heroically scaled a tree and fence to reach the fire escape, and then the top floor, to rescue the baby. “I saw a lot of people… screaming. I saw one baby… I tried to save the baby,” Mathieu said. The infant was safely rescued, and officials confirmed she was unharmed.
The blaze, which started in a top-floor kitchen, was tackled by over 75 firefighters from five departments, who extinguished it in about 20 minutes. Two people were treated for smoke inhalation, and Spring Hill EMS was on the scene. The fire’s cause is under investigation, highlighting the importance of quick and decisive action in emergencies.