A DeKalb County, Georgia, teen is being hailed a hero for catching a woman as she jumped from an apartment building engulfed in flames just before it came crashing down, The Atlanta Journal-Consitution reports.
Antonio Senior, 14, told a woman trapped on a third-floor balcony of the apartment building to jump to him. “Come on, baby,” Antonio told the woman. “Just jump. I got you.”
Seeing no other alternative, the woman took the leap of faith and Antonio caught her as the building came down.
“She was scared,” Senior said. “She was shaking and said, ‘Thank you! Thank you!’”
JUST IN: Man catches neighbor who jumped from burning #DeKalb building – https://t.co/YhYK2mCHXV
pic.twitter.com/LwW0UkjI7F— John Spink (@johnjspink) April 27, 2018
Other residents managed to get to safety with only minor injuries. Christopher Jones was left with a bruised ankle sustained after he jumped from the second floor, and Wes Donaldson suffered a sprained finger.
“It hurt my left ankle, but I’m alive,” Jones said. While Donaldson waited for AAA service, he also helped Antonio convince the woman to jump to safety.
Other survivors also credited Senior for saving them. He told the AJC that when he saw how intense the flames were getting, "First thing out of my mind is save these people. Right now.”
DeKalb County fire captain Eric Jackson told WSB 2 Action News that it took nearly 30 firefighters working from the ground and air to extinguish the fire.
Fire officials have launched an investigation to determine what caused the fire.