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911 calls from fire: ‘They are throwing kids out the window here’

911 calls from fire released

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Calls to 911 released Monday demonstrated the terrifying moments during a fire Friday night at an east side apartment complex.

That fire forced a mother to throw her baby and toddler out a third-story window.

Indianapolis Fire Department said the blaze broke out around 9:30 p.m. Friday.

Woman: “I know, I see there’s people trying to jump off the 3rd floor.”
Dispatcher: “They’re jumping off the third floor?
Woman: “Yeah.”
Dispatcher: “What’s the address of your emergency?”
Woman: “They are throwing kids out the window here at 46th and Arlington.”  

It was a terrifying night for people who live inside Pangea Prairie Apartments near 46th and Arlington as they panicked and called 911 as their home went up in flames.

But the scariest part was a mother trapped on the third floor inside a burning apartment with two kids, a 3-year-old and a 7-month-old.

“I seen the fire behind her back. That’s one of the last times everybody said ‘jump!’ and she turned around and the fire was like this close from her back and she went on and she jumped,” said Delisa Wilson, who lives in the apartment complex.

Because the apartment was gated, firefighters had trouble getting to the fire.

So a group of good Samaritans stepped in.

Indianapolis Fire Department says a group of men from inside the apartment complex gathered outside the woman’s window and convinced her to throw the children to safety and then jumped herself. 

Woman: “They’re throwing babies out the window!”
Dispatcher: “They’re throwing the baby out the window?”  
Woman: “Yes we’ve got the babies!”

“Yeah it was real scary. It was real scary,” said Wilson.

News 8 reached out to the mother. She said she did not want to go on camera as she’s still trying to heal from the ordeal.

Investigators say she and the two kids were taken to the hospital and are going to be OK.

“They were there, right. They were Johnny on the spot. They caught the children. They caught her. Everything turned out OK,” said Wilson.

Quite a few people on Monday night remained without a home. Most have lost everything.

If you’d like to help, call the American Red Cross at 888-684-1441.