DALLAS — A fire at an apartment building Wednesday forced one mother to drop her year-old baby from a third-floor window into the arms of a bystander below and other residents to jump onto mattresses to save themselves, authorities say.

More than 40 people were displaced by the fire in Northeast Dallas, and three people were injured, including a firefighter who suffered burns, authorities say. They were all expected to be OK.

The fire started shortly after 7 a.m., filling the apartments and hallways with smoke. A mother and father in one apartment were forced to punch out a bedroom window to escape.

The parents were left with no choice but to drop their 1-year-old baby out of the bedroom window.

“It was terrifying,” said Shuntara Thomas. “I didn’t know if I was going to come down with her or if that would be the last time that I was holding my child.”

Source: Dallas apartment fire: Mom drops baby to bystander in dramatic rescue