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Firefighter saves child from Texas apartment fire
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Firefighter saves child from Texas apartment fire

Local Texas firefighters became true heroes when they rescued a 2-year-old boy trapped in a burning apartment.

On Sunday, Nov. 10, firefighters from the Granbury Volunteer Fire Department and the North Hood Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call about a massive fire at a Granbury apartment building, the fire department said North Hood volunteer in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

When firefighters arrived, a woman was upset because one of her two children was still inside, according to CBS News.

The toddler’s mother, Phylicia Keen, told the outlet that after she “heard glass breaking” around 1 a.m. that morning, she saw her “windows shattering from the flames on my balcony.” , then immediately grabbed her 4-year-old son, but 2- 1-year-old Liam Keen was out of her reach.

Firefighters said in their statement to PEOPLE that the 2-year-old was trapped in the second-floor bedroom.

Grandbury Volunteer Fire Department.

Granbury Volunteer Fire Department/FF P. Smith NHCoVFD


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“Unfortunately, I was only able to grab the one closest to me to get out. By the time I came back to get the baby, the entire living room hallway was engulfed in black smoke,” Keen told CBS News.

That’s when firefighters sprang into action and entered the apartment to save little Liam from the growing flames.

Lt. Jonathan Head of the North Hood County Volunteer Fire Department used an ax to break the apartment window to save the little boy – but said the large amounts of smoke obscured his vision. “Every time I broke the window and climbed in, there were a lot of questions, but you couldn’t see anything,” he told CBS News.

Head said he was immediately comforted by hope when he heard Liam’s cries, indicating the toddler was fortunately still alive.

Liam Keen saved from fire.

CBS News 11 Texas


“I just relied on his voice,” Head said. “Every time he cried, that’s where I went. I brushed against him and he let out a scream. So I knew I was on him. I picked him up out of sheer excitement – because he was actually moving…obviously, crying is a good sign.

Liam was taken to Cooks Children’s Hospital after being rescued and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning – and made a full recovery less than a week after the heartbreaking incident.

Meanwhile, Grandbury Fire Capt. Bradley Snyder said he’s just happy that Liam’s situation has a happy ending, which he said is usually not the case.

“What’s going through our minds as firefighters is, is this going to be the same outcome that we see 80 percent of the time. But not this time. Moments later, they manage to get Liam through the window alive…I’ve been doing this for 22 years and this is literally the first time I’ve seen things go the right way,” he said. told CBS News.

Representatives for the Grandbury Fire Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Keen told the outlet she was relieved when firefighters told her Liam was crying because she initially feared he “was dead.”

“Him telling me he was crying was probably the best moment of my life,” she said.