00:00It was the kind of wake-up call no one wants. Just after 4 a.m., terrified cries echoed through Tower D at East Grove as flames trapped a family inside their home.
00:14You can still hear the calls of these people crying out through the windows. Oh, God, help me, help me, help me. And I'm downstairs. I'm the apartment right below her. And I'm saying, oh, God, just put a towel over her. She said, baby, I can't move. I can't move, Jillian. I can't move. Smoke all over. I don't know how they're going to get over this. And the apartment is not livable.
00:33The fire broke out inside the apartment of the Samuel family. Neighbors say they were jolted awake by screams and thick smoke pouring through the corridor.
00:43There was one young lady that was bawling. I want to jump. Jump and you all catch me. There was smoke and fire bellowing. So my husband and my son, they rushed out. But by the time they came out, there was already a bucket brigade because the community came together to assist the residents and them.
01:01But as residents sprang into action, they say the building's emergency systems failed them. The fire hoses had no water. Fire alarms didn't go off. And for a seven story building, there were no working sprinklers or emergency lights.
01:19When the flyer appliances did come, there were no ladders. We had to send by Rocky. And that's the hardware right across there. And he always helped out the community. He was able to send a ladder to go up to break the window to try and get them out from there. But they had already broken down the door and they came down, came out with it.
01:38Four members of the Samuel family were inside at the time. A 50-year-old asthmatic mother, her 14-year-old son and a 7-year-old granddaughter, all now warded at Monctope Hospital with burns and breathing issues.
01:54When I was in my own bedroom with the door closed, my mother was in hers and my brother in his own. But my niece was outside where the start of the fire was. So she was the one that ran inside to tell my mother, the house on fire or whatever.
02:07But by the time they reached, it was just for the ambulance to deal with my mother, my brother and my niece. They are currently warded at Monctope Hospital with minor burns and asthma.
02:17Relatives believe a faulty electric fan sparked the blaze, which also caused a partial damage to a neighboring apartment.
02:25The family lost their father last year. And this disaster adds to already difficult times.
02:34But in the midst of chaos, there were heroes. Nicholas Joseph says the trauma hit too close to home to ignore.
02:42I got to send the keys downstairs and the keys was too, the door was too hot. So I kicked down the door and then wet my jersey and band up my face and then let everybody know, bring water, bring water, bring water.
02:52And then I started to talk to the people downstairs and tell them, well, we have the water and you join them now, so I got to run downstairs.
02:57But while doing that, my whole traumatizing situation about this was just the fact that I remember when I was a child and a bird catcher fire with my brothers and my sisters and I had to save them.
03:06And I hear a little child inside there. So I had to destroy it because I was a father too.
03:10East Grove residents say this should be a wake-up call, not just for the community, but for the authorities responsible for their safety.
03:20Aksha Galston, TV6 News.
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