Firefighter speaks about catching baby in blaze
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - She could be called a hero and "supermom," but she just thinks of herself as another firefighter.
Captain Jackie Peckrul caught a baby dropped by frantic parents from the third floor of a burning apartment building.
RELATED: Massive fire rips through DeKalb County apartment complex
Peckrul, a mother of triplets, is one of several first responders praised for saving children and families out of the January 3 fire at the Avondale Forest Apartments. The blaze displaced close to 80 people.
Tuesday, firefighters released helmet camera video of one of the rescues, where firefighter Captain Scott Stroup catches the baby's older sibling as father Lance Ragland throws his child away from the flames.
DRAMATIC VIDEO: Dad saves daughter by tossing her during massive fire
When firefighters responded to the 911 call in the early hours of Jan. 3, Peckrul got out a ladder to rescue the Ragland family's eight children, but the parents acted quicker. She looked up and saw a baby wrapped in a blanket falling.
"That was the only thing running through my mind... 'Lord, let me catch this baby,'" said Peckrul.
"My hands came off the ladder and I got em'," she said, taking the baby to emergency crews then helping the rest of the family come down. Stroup then performed the incredible catch of one of the children.
Assistant Chief Jeff Crump also pulled a woman in a wheelchair out of one of the burning buildings.
"There's no better feeling in the world," Peckrul said, about saving the lives of people and especially children. "Never want to see any parent lose a child," she said.