11-Year-Old Boy Runs Into Burning Building And Saves 2-Year-Old Baby Sister

An 11-year-old boy ran back into a burning apartment building in Maryland to save his baby sister.

The child was slightly burned when he made his escape with the 2-year-old baby. Nobody else was injured in the fire, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said.

The fire took place inside a two-storied building with eight apartments in Salisbury on Tuesday, according to officials. A smoke alarm alerted the building's occupants about the raging fire, and they began exiting around 6 p.m., WBOC reported.

The 11-year-old boy was inside the apartment at the time of the fire and managed to make it out in time. However, the boy realized that his baby sister was still on the second floor of the burning building.

The child rushed back inside the building and safely made it all the way to his baby sister. The boy then successfully made his second escape and got his baby sister out of harm's way.

Officials said the boy sustained a "very minor" burn on his arm, according to CBS News. No other injuries were reported in the fire.

Firefighters from the Salisbury Fire Department arrived at the scene and took control of the situation. They managed to put out the blaze within 10 minutes.

The fire is believed to have been an accident and started inside a bedroom on the second floor.

Officials said the fire was caused by an "electrical event at an outlet in the bedroom." Further details about the cause of the were not revealed.

An estimated $250,000 in damage to the structure of the building was caused by the fire, and another $40,000 in damage to other items was estimated, officials said.

The fire also left two apartment units uninhabitable. The American Red Cross is providing assistance to the building's residents.

A similar incident was reported in 2020 after a 5-year-old boy saved his younger sister and their family dog after a fire broke out in a Georgia home. The boy woke up to find his bedroom on fire and got his 2-year-old sister, his dog and himself out of the window. He then ran next door to alert his uncle about the fire and helped save 7 other lives.