New York, Dec 9 : A Brooklyn man, 46-year-old Mohammad Qasim tossed his three kids out of a third-floor window on Wednesday morning after a fire ripped through his home, fire brigade sources said.
The man threw his kids out of the apartment and thus averted a tragedy that could have taken the lives of the 13 people living inside, fire officials said.
Mohammed Qasim, a father of three who lived in the home with his sister and her six kids, said he awoke to the screams of children.
“I woke up because of the screaming,” he said. “I don't know what caused the fire, but I called 911. I had to throw my kids out the from the attic top window.”
“They didn't want to jump,” said Qasim, who works in a nearby grocery store and has been living in the home for 10 years. “I wanted to save my children's lives. I lost everything, but thank God everyone is OK.”
The other people in the home were rescued from the first floor by firefighters.
Qasim's 10-year-old son injured his leg jumping from the attic to the first floor's pitched roof. He was taken to Methodist Hospital in stable condition.
Qasim's nephew Mir Razzaq, 8, said there were flames everywhere.
“There was smoke in the living room and everywhere in the house,” he said. “It was very scary. There was fire everywhere.”
The scene of fire was a private home on East 7th Street between Cortelyou Road and Avenue C. The fire department quickly called for a second alarm, and moments later a third alarm – due to the fire spreading to the next-door apartment building.
Officials say no one was injured in the fire but several children were forced to jump to safety.
Fire officials say the fire began on the first floor apartment of a single family home on East 7th Street, spread to the top floor and onto the apartment building next door. They are investigating the cause of the fire.
Watch Video
