Infant, Child Rescued from New Hampshire Fire

MANCHESTER, N.H. --

Firefighters dropped an infant and a 2-year-old out of the second floor of a burning building in Manchester on Friday morning.

The children were taken to a hospital, where relatives said they were recovering.

The fire at 198 Auburn St. was called in at about 9 a.m., and flames could be seen shooting from the roof of the triple-decker.

A man who wanted to be identified only as Chris was trapped in the building, along with the two children, his nephews.

"We got to the second floor and hit a wall of smoke, but then the firefighters came in and kicked out the windows," Chris said.

Firefighters dropped the children out the window to rescuers waiting below.

"I was walking down the alley and saw firefighters toss two infant babies out the window," witness Shannon O'Dell said. "I thought to myself, 'I hope they catch them,'"

The children were caught safely. Many neighbors say the cries for help are what drew them to the scene.

"We could hear the crying of the babies, and we could hear a woman screaming before they got them out," witness Jill Baker said. "It was pretty scary."

Other residents were also trapped in the building.

"The fire was on the first floor," Chief James Burkush said. "It was below the residents. The residents couldn't make exit out of the hallways. Smoke detectors were working, but they were unable to escape."

Fire crews moved ladder trucks in to rescue the remaining residents. It wasn't clear how many people were in the building, but six were taken to local hospitals.

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