MILWAUKEE — A mother and her two young children survived a fire that engulfed their SUV when they were pulled from the burning vehicle by off-duty firefighters and bystanders.
The 32-year-old mother was driving the SUV on Milwaukee’s south side Sunday when the vehicle crashed, flipped on its side and caught fire, police said.
Videotape of the dramatic rescue shot by a bystander shows two men using metal pipes to break the windshield, freeing the woman and her 2-year-old daughter.
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The woman’s 4-year-old son was still trapped inside. Two brothers, who are off-duty firefighters, tried pulling the boy from the burning vehicle.
One of the brothers, John Rechlitz, said he couldn’t find the seat belt release to free the boy from his car seat.
“When I pulled out of the vehicle to call for a knife, he stopped crying. I thought we had lost him. When I started cutting (the seat belt), he started crying again,” Rechlitz said.
Joel Rechlitz and a police officer used fire extinguishers to hold back the fire as John Rechlitz worked to free the child.
Police and fire officials say the boy suffered burns to 30 percent of his body and is hospitalized at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The Rechlitz brothers were treated for burns to their hands and arms.