A Granbury mother is praising fire-fighters after rescuing her two-year-old son from a burning building.
The dramatic rescue was captured on camera.
Just before 1 a.m. Sunday, Hood County dispatchers received a call regarding an apartment building on fire in the 300 block of Parkwood in Granbury.
Mother Phylicia Keen told NBC5 she awoke to the sound of shattering glass. When she went to investigate she found flames shooting through her living room window and dense smoke filling her apartment.
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Keen said she was able to get her 4-year-old son safely outside, but when she tried to reach the back bedroom where her two-year-old was asleep the smoke engulfed her.
Within minutes Granbury’s Volunteer Fire Department arrived and went to work.
One crew tackled the flames, while another crew went into rescue mode.
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In edited body camera video posted on GVFD Facebook page, you can see fire-fighters raising a ladder to the second story and smashing the window to get inside.
According to GVFD, one fire-fighter climbed inside the bedroom to search for the child. After a few anxious moments, the child was found and pulled out the window to safety.
He was flown to a Fort Worth hospital for treatment.
“We were very lucky. If it had been another 5 minutes or less the outcome may not have been as good,” said Capt. Brad Snyder. “He [was] coughing, but you know, that coughing to me was just the sound of joy.”
Speaking from her son’s hospital room, Keen said she is still in shock and still replaying the panic of being unable to reach her youngest child.
“To see my kids go through that – for my four-year-old to question if his baby brother is okay and to say he no longer has a home. To see my baby just the way [paramedics] brought him in was really hard,” Keen said.
Her youngest son, Liam, is undergoing treatment for carbon monoxide and the family is hopeful he’ll be released in the next 24 hours.
As for the family's home, it was destroyed along with nearly everything inside.
Yet, Keen is incredibly grateful.
“First responders are actual heroes. For real angels and heroes,” Keen said. “Even in the small town of Granbury, Texas the volunteer fire department – they were great. Every single one of them.”
GVFD said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Keen's family has started a GoFundMe page to the family of four with immediate expenses and hospital bills.
