‘I figured I better try’: Good Samaritan rescues infant from Cleveland house fire

By Drew Scofield , Courtney Shaw , Clay LePard

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    CLEVELAND, Ohio (WEWS) — A man who was driving down West 102nd Street Monday morning stopped at a burning house and saved the life of an 11-month-old child who was trapped inside.

The fire started around 9:30 a.m. When crews arrived, the home was fully engulfed by flames on all three floors.

According to firefighters, a woman with 11-month-old twins was able to escape with one of her children. The good Samaritan, a 62-year-old man, was driving by and saw the burning house. He stopped to help and ran in and rescued the other infant.

News 5 spoke with that man, John Stickovich, while he was still recovering in the hospital.

Stickovich said he spotted the smoke on his way to work and felt compelled to stop by when he spotted a woman crying outside the home on fire.

That’s when he learned there was still an 11-month-old baby inside.

“I went in the first time, and I couldn’t find her, and I came back, and I said I asked her where she was at,” he recalled. “[The mother said,] ‘She was at the big gate.’ So I ran back in and hit the floor, crawled in, and I felt the baby gate on the floor, but the smoke was so bad. I was getting ready to leave, and then I heard a baby cry right in front of me, so I just jumped forward and I grabbed a hold of an arm, grabbed the baby by the arm and just brought her out with me.”

Stickovich told News 5 that he was relieved he could help before firefighters arrived.

“I figured I better try,” he said. “Nobody else was here with me. There’s no child that should die in a fire, ever. It didn’t happen today, and that’s a good thing.”

Cleveland Fire officials said the man’s quick actions prevented a tragedy.

“I think he saved that child’s life,” said Lt. Mike Norman. “He risked his life, went into that house to bring that baby out— did an amazing job.”

The woman, her children and the 62-year-old man who was the good Samaritan were all taken to the hospital for evaluation.

The fire department issued a mayday after a firefighter was trapped in a partial collapse when the porch roof “pancaked” down onto the firefighter.

Crews extricated the firefighter and he was taken to the hospital for treatment of a leg injury. He was last known to be in serious but stable condition. A second firefighter was also treated for a shoulder injury.

A preliminary investigation indicates the cause of the fire was electrical and appears to be accidental.

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