GRANBURY, Texas — Firefighters rescued a 2-year-old boy from a burning apartment building in Granbury Sunday, officials said.
At least three units at the Lakewood Crossing Apartments sustained significant damage.
The child, Liam Keen, is the only person who suffered injuries. Doctors at Cook Children's in Fort Worth are monitoring the boy for lingering symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, though he is alert and active.
"I've taken life for granted," said Phylicia Keen, Liam's mother. "After this morning, never again."
Keen told WFAA she woke before 1 a.m., when the window beside her second-story balcony shattered. She assumed her 4-year-old son had broken something in the kitchen, she said.
She left her bedroom, where 2-year-old Liam was also asleep, and discovered her apartment's attic was burning. She raced to the 4-year-old, who was closest to her, and ushered him outside.
When she returned for Liam, there was a barrier of thick smoke between her and her bedroom.
"I couldn't see. I couldn't breathe," Keen said. "Multiple people tried to go in and grab him and we couldn't get through."
Keen said she believed her son was dead.
Firefighters arrived about 3 minutes after the first alarm. Granbury Volunteer Fire Department captain Brad Snyder told WFAA the fire was burning especially hot and fast.
"Every second counted," he said, noting that responders were fortunate to know exactly where the child was and how to reach him.
Video taken on a firefighter's helmet camera shows a first responder climb a ladder to the bedroom window and smash through the glass. Later, the firefighter passed Liam down to medics on the ground.
"He's crying! That's good," one firefighter can be heard saying during the rescue. "Thank God."
The 2-year-old's sobs were a welcome sign of life.
"The most exciting thing, to me, was hearing that kid cry as we lowered him down the ladder," Snyder said. "It's one of those times where you want to hear him cry. You want to hear him scream."
"Just a couple of seconds before that, I thought my baby was dead," Keen said. "To know he was crying, alive, and awake - I looked into his eyes and it was surreal. It was the best feeling ever."
Medics treated the child and took him to Cook Children's in a helicopter. Liam did not require an oxygen mask constantly Sunday, his mother said, though it's possible he sustained some long-term lung damage.
She expects doctors to release the child Monday, barring an unexpected setback.
Keen said she experienced the worst moment of her life and the best moment of her life in succession.
"My heart was broken and then - just like that - it was healed," she said.
About 85 percent of the family's belongings are ruined, Keen said. Relatives set up a GoFundMe page to help replace their things.
At least two other units at the apartment complex sustained damage. Investigators have not yet determined how the fire started.
The apartment complex is about two years old and the fire suppression system worked Sunday, Snyder said. It took firefighters about 15 minutes to smother the flames.
Keen's brother is a firefighter with the Granbury Volunteer Fire Department, though he did not respond to Sunday's call.
"They are amazing. Heroes. Angels," Keen said. "They don't get recognized enough. They hit the ground running and didn't stop."