11-Year-Old Neighbor Janixia Soto Saved Her Brother's Life From Fire This Morning

The fire this morning at 83 E 18th St. yielded no injuries, and a few of our neighbors, including sixth-grader Janixia Soto and 32-year-old Ronnie Smith Jr., are to thank.

According to DNA Info, Janixia woke her family as their home filled with smoke, then threw her 3-year-old brother Walter to a group of people below when her apartment building’s fire escape jammed:

As smoke and heat belched from the building behind her, Janixia Soto, 11, dropped the toddler two floors into the arms of good Samaritans below…

“In that situation, you’re not thinking of yourself,” Smith said. “All I was thinking was, ‘Drop him. Drop him.’ Between four men, I knew we could catch him.”

Ronnie goes on to say the other men who helped catch Walter disappeared in the commotion.

What an incredible act of bravery by Janixia, as well as Ronnie and the other neighbors involved.

Photo via DNA Info