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Hear from Detroit neighbor who caught baby dropped from burning home

Cause of fire under investigation

DETROIT – A neighbor jumped into action to help rescue a baby from the second floor of a burning home in Detroit.

Shantaesha Young said she was just in the right place at the right time. It was her quick thinking that helped save lives after a house on Detroit’s west side caught fire.

The fire broke out around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11. A family of seven lived inside the home.

“I just heard a loud noise and screaming. Ran outside and saw kids on the ground and they were hanging out the window,” Young said.

Young said she looked up and saw a frantic mother in desperate need of help.

“She was holding the baby by her foot upside down,” Young said. “She threw out another kid and I saw the infant, three months old, and I just grabbed him.”

Young was on the phone with dispatchers when she caught the baby with one arm. A couple and their five children ranging in age from three months to eight years old all made it out safely.

“I was just at the right place and right time,” Young said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.


About the Authors
Priya Mann headshot

Priya joined WDIV-Local 4 in 2013 as a reporter and fill-in anchor. Education: B.A. in Communications/Post Grad in Advanced Journalism

Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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