MONROE, Mich. (WXYZ) — What began as a medical call for Monroe firefighters quickly turned into an unexpected rescue after first responders discovered a 3-month-old baby inside a smoke-filled home.
According to the Monroe City Public Safety Department, firefighter paramedics were dispatched Monday to a home on Wadsworth Street after receiving a report of a woman having trouble breathing.
7 News Detroit reporter Tiarra Braddock has more on the incredible discovery in the video below:
"The initial call came in as a medical call, difficulty breathing, didn't have a whole lot of information from dispatch," Smiley said. "They said the caller was giving descriptions, said the door is open but then went silent."
Emergency radio traffic classified the incident as a priority-one response for a 20-year-old woman who could not breathe.
"The front door was open but the screen door was shut and they could see a little haze in the house, which they thought was weird for a medical call," Smiley said.
Once inside, firefighters discovered a small kitchen fire and found the woman who placed the call unconscious. Crews removed her from the home and quickly extinguished the fire.
“They got her downstairs and at the same time, the captain went back and got the fire out on the stove," Smiley said.
After helping the woman and putting out the fire, firefighters decided to take one more look through the house. That's when they made a surprising discovery.
"Found the baby in the back bedroom right down the hall from where the mom was in a bouncer," Smiley said.
Thankfully, the infant was not injured and is expected to be okay. The mother is also expected to recover.
Smiley said firefighters do not typically search a home after responding to a medical call, but he is grateful crews chose to take another look.
"This could have turned out very bad," Smiley said. "Generally we would pick up the patient at the medical call, take them to the hospital and that's it, so that baby could have been in there without anyone knowing."
He added that the crew did a very good job.
"This is what we're trained for," Smiley said. "Thankfully everybody came out okay on this one and that's always our best wishes."
