Hero firefighters rescue FAMILY OF 12 from burning apartment, catch babies thrown from window

When a residential fire broke out at a Georgia apartment complex earlier this month, emergency personnel on the scene captured footage of some of the harrowing and heroic actions involved in bringing everyone trapped inside to safety.

In video captured by another firefighter’s body camera, DeKalb County Fire Capt. Jackie Peckrul can be seen catching a baby dropped from a third-story apartment in a desperate attempt by parents to save the young child. Capt. Scott Stroup reportedly caught that child’s older sibling in a similar situation.

Peckrul, who has triplets of her own, recalled the pressure she felt when she looked up to see a baby falling to earth toward her. She said she was still holding a ladder in an attempt to climb up to meet the Ragland family — which included eight children — when she saw the baby dropping.

She said the only thing she could think when she realized what was happening was, “Lord, let me catch this baby.”

Her “hands came off the ladder,” Peckrul said, and she caught the baby. After taking the rescued child to emergency medical personnel, she reportedly headed back to the fire to assist the remaining residents.

In addition to the two incredible catches that have earned the agency accolades by their community and on social media, Assistant Chief Jeff Crump has been hailed for his work pulling a wheelchair-bound resident to safety.

For Peckrul, however, performing her duties as a firefighter is reward enough.

“There’s no better feeling in the world,” she said of saving children, among others, from a burning building. “Never want to see any parent lose a child.”

As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, eight children and four adults were transported to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries following the Jan. 3 fire.

[Featured image: Jackie Peckrul/video screenshot]