SAN LEANDRO (CBS 5) – Just after 7 a.m. Tuesday, Alameda County fire station number 24 was called to the scene of an apartment fire where they located a mother trapped by flames in an upstairs unit.

The burned in a complex near the intersection of Marcella Street off of 159th Avenue, not far from Highway 580. The trapped mother decided that that going through the house was not an option, and started lowering a child out of her window.

“She didn’t know what to do so she basically handed her child down to me,” said Anthony McAdams, an Alameda County Firefighter.

Hearing that there were more children still inside, Captain Tom Pappas rushed inside. Pappas had a helmet camera mounted to his head.

“They were in the back bedroom, tucked into the closet under a blanket scared for their lives,” said Pappas.

In total darkness, Captain Pappas grabbed a boy and pulled him to safety. Moments later, McAdams found another child who he was able to pull to safety.

“She was crying and I just grabbed her and B-lined out the front door,” he recalled.

In all, four people were transported by ambulance to the hospital. All of them are expected to fully recover.

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