Bystanders help woman, child escape Mississauga fire through 2nd-floor window

Passersby helped a woman and a child escape from a second-floor window as fire tore through a Mississauga apartment on Wednesday morning, according to firefighters and a witness.

"I heard somebody screaming 'help, help!' and a baby crying," said Kelly Amaral, who lives nearby the residence on Mississauga Road where the fire began shortly before 4 a.m.

Amaral then hopped into her car and headed toward the yelling.

"When I looked up there was a woman and her child hanging out of the window and smoke just billowing out," she told CBC Toronto.

"They were panicking. They could see flames."

That's when another bystander came rushing up to the scene. Together, they were able to safely catch the child and also help the woman down from the window. The unit where the fire broke out is situated above a bakery.

Shortly after helping the woman and child, Mississauga firefighters arrived at the scene. They were able to use a ladder to assist another woman down to street level.

All three people rescued from the apartment were taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation.

Platoon Chief Luigi Davoli said crews were able to contain the fire to a single unit. The residence sustained significant damage, he added.

The blaze was extinguished before dawn.