Antwan Moore said, ” I thought about my son being up there on that roof, and did what I had to do.”
Antwan Moore, of Niagara Falls, New York, is being hailed a hero for climbing onto a second story roof to save a toddler who climbed out a window on Thursday morning. WGRZ News reports that Moore’s girlfriend Amber Haley was in their front yard when she heard a noise coming from across the street. Haley said, “it sounded like squeel so I looked up and there was a child on the roof.” The 18-month old had crawled out a second story window in nothing but a diaper and socks and was walking around on the snow covered roof. Officials said they believe the boy’s 4-year-old sister had opened the window, allowing the child to escape onto the roof. Haley said she was “terrified” the child would slip off the snow covered roof. She told reporters, “He was like walking around, and moving, then, he slipped a couple times and I screamed a couple times, and then I started screaming for help.”
It was at this point Moore was alerted to what was going on across the street. While Haley called 911, Moore was able to climb up on the roof and grab the child. He wrapped the toddler in a sweatshirt to keep him warm while they waited for the fire department to arrive. Although Moore said it felt like forever that they waited, he said the entire rescue actually took about 10 minutes. He said, “Seeing the baby I thought about my son being up there on that roof, and did what I had to do.” Captain Gary Carella of the Niagara Falls fire department said, “I’d like to comment that he is the true hero in this situation he made out job very easy, he secured the child, kept him safe.”
Both the Niagara Falls Fired Department and Police Department are considering Moore for a community award for his actions in saving the life of the child.