US firefighter catches baby thrown out from burning building

Washington: A quick-thinking American firefighter caught a baby thrown out from the second floor window of a building by a desperate father after flames and smoke engulfed his apartment.

The father desperate to save his child from the smoke and flames quickly filling his apartment in Dekalb County, Georgia, tossed his baby from the second floor. Fortunately, firefighter Robert Sutton caught the baby in one swift move.

"He was a little guy, so when I heard his father yelling 'Help', and saw him hanging out the window with the baby in his arms, I just went into action. I just did what any of the other firefighters out here would have done," Sutton told Fox 5.

"I just said 'Drop him.' He did and I am blessed to have been in a position to catch the baby," said Sutton. Plumber Larry Carter, who recorded the rescue on his cell phone, was quoted as saying, "It was a remarkable sight to see something like that. They were on it."

Carter and other contractors were doing renovations on the building next door when the fire erupted. He stopped to record the fire as the smoke started billowing from the windows.

"All of a sudden you heard a man screaming. When I heard there was a baby, my heart started fluttering...one guy just caught it like a football pass. It was something to see," said Carter.

Captain Tom Burrell was visibly moved as he watch the video of the rescue.

"I just hope that this helps people understood the hard work and training that goes into being a firefighter,"

Burrell said as he stood in front of the burned building on Wednesday. Sutton, who has two young children of his own, however, was reluctant to take credit for the life saving catch.

He said it just comes down to good training, great fellow firefighters and shared commitment to helping people in distress