A Riverside man crawled through a smoke-filled apartment Monday to save a neighbor's baby, according to firefighters.
Larry Priest said the was getting ready for work when he heard screams from a nearby apartment. He noticed flames and smoke coming from the unit and grabbed a fire extinguisher.
"The mom said her baby was inside," Priest said. ""I couldn't see anything. It was too hot and too smoky. I had to come back outside to get some more air. That's when the mom told me exactly where the baby was."
Priest crawled on his hands and knees until he found the baby girl on a bed. He wrapped her in blankets and fled from the building.
"There wasn't much time, at all," Priest said. "It had to be done, right away. The smoke level was just below my waist."
Darryl Ratliff was at work when he was notified that his family's apartment until was on fire.
"My neighbor, if it wasn't for him...," Ratliff said, shaking his head.
No injuries were reported. Nine units were damaged.
