Two children were rushed to the hospital in critical condition after firefighters found them hiding inside a burning home Tuesday morning.
The fire broke out in the house at 355 S. Eliot Street a little before 9:40 a.m., Melissa Taylor with the Denver Fire Department confirmed.
Firefighters found the children inside the burning unit during a secondary search. Witnesses say it was a very emotional scene when those children were being rushed to the hospital.
“He had the baby in his arms and ran him maybe 100 yards down there with the baby and he’s like ‘open that ambulance door, open that ambulance door’ and they gave him a mask,” said David Hinojos.
Those who called 911 and stayed to watch the situation unfold told 7NEWS Denver Firefighters did everything they could to get the kids to safety.
“They did a really excellent job in breaking through the doors really fast and getting those kids out and saving their lives hopefully, I pray to God, God bless their family,” said Dedra Larae Heyboer.
It is still unclear if there were any adults home at the time the fire started. Witnesses said the kids' mother came home after fire crews got there and was overcome with emotion, needing to be taken to the hospital herself.
“The mom pulled up a little bit afterwards and then she collapsed in the middle of the street,” said Jarred Strenge.
Fire officials stressed the importance of talking to children about evacuating during a fire.
“Really encourage parents, encourage your children when a fire breaks out, please you know, get out of the house. It’s never safe to have a child hiding inside a home,” said Melissa Taylor, Public Information Officer with Denver Fire.
Denver fire was not able to confirm the condition of the children. Witnesses say the kids may have been home alone. pic.twitter.com/x1Kr4W50xC
— Mark Boyle (@newsmanmark) September 29, 2015
The children remain in critical condition at Denver Health. Denver Fire hasn’t determined a cause of the fire or if the kids hiding had anything to do with it.
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