Heart-Stopping Moment Mother Drops 5-Year-Old Daughter Out 3rd-Floor Window as Fire Engulfs Apartment

A group of good Samaritans saved the day for a family in a desperate situation.

The family found themselves trapped in their apartment after a massive fire broke out in Peoria, Illinois.

Peoria County Deputies say that after arriving on the scene they quickly realized that the fire made it impossible to get down the hallway and rescue the family.

That left one option, and deputies quickly gathered together a group of people who live in the building and grabbed a blanket.

They then instructed the family to drop the 5-year-old child who lived in the residence out the third-floor window and into the blanket.

The family hesitated as deputies repeatedly assured them that the child would not be harmed before they finally dropped the 5-year-old out the window, and safely into the blanket.

Fire Chief Terry Schadt of the West Peoria Fire Department arrived on the scene after the deputies, and says the rest of the family was rescued by firefighters using a cherry picker.  

"It's always great when you have some great bystanders and police who can jump in there before the fire department arrives," Schadt tells Inside Edition.

He then heralded the men for their ability to convince the mother to drop her daughter.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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