Baby Jet landed safely after he was dropped from a burning Edmonton apartment building yesterday morning, an incident that spurred officials to reaffirm the necessity of fire-escape plans.
When the 21-month-old baby’s mother saw smoke had filled the third-floor hallway of the walkup, she passed him to her boyfriend, who dropped him to a neighbour on the ground below.
“They just followed their instincts, which were to protect the child,” Edmonton Fire Services spokesperson Tim Wilson said yesterday.
A space heater in a bedroom on the second floor is being blamed for the blaze, which caused $400,000 in structural damage and $100,000 in contents damage.
Smoke detectors went off in the hallways after fire broke out shortly after 8 a.m. Residents from 12 suites fled before fire crews arrived, all escaping injury.
Investigators discovered smoke detectors in individual suites were without batteries, Wilson said.
“The situation reinforces how important it is to have an evacuation plan, and to practise with your family,” Wilson said.
“Your first alert is having a working detector. It can mean the difference between life and death.”
