Mother throws baby to save her during house fire

It's been a harrowing two weeks for a New Jersey mother who was trapped in a house fire. Her home is gone and she ended up in the hospital. But it could have been much worse. She had to throw her infant daughter from a window to save her from the raging fire then she jumped.

FOX 29's Bill Anderson has the story.

When Michael Ramos came home from the store he was faced with immediate shock and fear.

"I was pulling up I heard a voice saying help, help. My neighbors came running out as I'm walking up to my door and said that's your house--your house is on fire that's your wife."

Think about it you're the mother of a newborn child smell smoke and then realize there's a fire and there's no way to get out of the house except the second-story window what do you do? Faith Maldonado had few choices.

"I put the baby out the window so she could breathe and screamed somebody, 'Help my baby. ' That's when Roy (neighbor) ran up and he was standing right here that's when I counted to three and let her go down."

Looking at the damage on the first floor of the house you can see that Faith Maldonado's decision to drop her newborn daughter out the second floor window and hope a neighbor caught her was really her only option. And it had to be done quickly because moments later she was overcome by smoke.

"I thought about my kids and then I just jumped out the window," she said.

It could've been a tragedy but instead we went to speak to Faith, her fiance Michael and met baby Andreana. FOX 29's Bill Anderson heard about how a neighbor who caught the baby and helped break Faith's fall and others who treated them made this into a story with a positive outcome.

"I said in my head God bless her and I hope he just catches her. God guided my fall too and I'm thankful for that."

Aside from a scratch on her face baby Andreana was fine, likely with very little memory of how close she was to serious injury or even tragedy if a neighbor hadn't been there to catch her. And her father Michael is grateful.

"I told him thank you and gave him a big hug. I appreciate him saving my wife and my kid."

Faith fared worse, she still spent two weeks in the hospital with cuts from the glass and smoke inhalation that still has her struggling to speak. But even so the family knows that neighbors who stepped up during the fire and have continued with donations and support are a lifesaving gift.

"Come together it's a blessing, its nice to see that. When you're going through a situation not only family can help you."

So its another story of a fire, a story you see too often but this time it ends with a happy baby And a family smiling rather than grieving because a community acted like well a community... For Goodness Sake

If you wish to help the family, please click here.