Quick action by neighbors and firefighters -- and a little luck -- saved three infants trapped inside a burning apartment on Friday that police say was set on fire by their father after a domestic dispute with the children’s 19-year-old mother.
Using hammers, chairs and whatever they could grab to smash through hurricane windows, neighbors entered a burning second-floor unit at the Stonybrook Apartments. They handed a 3-year-old boy and a 1-year-old boy out the window.
“They kept pounding and pounding. They were using hammers and chairs, anything they could get their hands on. They wouldn’t stop until they got those kids out,” said Riviera Beach Mayor Thomas Masters.
A 1-month-old girl was still inside, residents told firefighters when they arrived about 6 p.m.