DETROIT – A mattress caught fire Thursday in a Pembroke Avenue home in Detroit, sending five children to the hospital.
ORIGINAL STORY: 5 children, 1 firefighter taken to hospital after house fire in northwest Detroit
"It's a mattress and carpet burns," said Treyvaughn Robinson. "It didn't really touch the wood."
Robinson found five children unconscious, overcome by toxic smoke, behind a closed door in his home.
A fire that could have been deadly was smoldering in another room just feet from where Robinson slept. He said he heard no screams or cries for help.
Robinson said he was alerted to the fire when he smelled smoke and rushed to get the children out of the house.
Authorities said the children were in bad shape, suffering from smoke inhalation and three weren't breathing.
A 4-month-old girl, two 2-year-old girls, a 3-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl were rushed to a hospital where their conditions were stabilized. They are expected to be OK.
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Robinson said he did what any parent would do in his situation.
"That's not heroic," Robinson said. "That is being a parent. I would die for any of my kids."