Neighbors pull children from burning home in Frankford

FRANKFORD (WPVI) -- Neighbors rescued two children from a burning home in Philadelphia's Frankford section Tuesday morning.

Firefighters were called around 10:30 a.m. to the 5200 block of Hawthorne Street.

When they arrived crews found heavy fire on the first floor of a middle of the row dwelling.

According to authorities, 18-year-old babysitter Sabria Stevens and two young children, 9-year-old Robert Waterford and 8-year-old Delneisha Torrence, were at home when the blaze broke out.

The two children were upstairs with the babysitter when Stevens woke up and started smelling smoke. She tried to get to the front room where the children were, but the smoke was so thick and heavy that she had to turn around and go out a back window.

"I opened the window, pushed the air conditioner out, and just jumped out the second floor window," Stevens said.

She then ran around to the front of the house to get the children, but by then the children were already out of the house and safe.

Officials say 8-year-old Delneisha was hanging out the front upstairs window screaming for help.

That's when three young women heard her cries.

First, they tried to climb up onto the porch roof to get the children out.

"We even tried to climb up on the railing to get her from hanging out the window, but once we got that door open, they came running down the steps," neighbor Karima Whitmore said.

Together, the three women managed to kick in the locked front door.

"We just were trying to get them out the window. That didn't work. Luckily, that little girl came out first and then her brother came out a minute behind," neighbor Darlisa Norris said.

Robert Watford and Delneisha Torrence escaped unharmed. They were checked out by medics and were released to relatives.

Their mother Mozell Boozer was at work at the time. She was overwhelmed by emotion when she returned home.

It was a close call for her children.

Darlisa Norris is just glad she stayed home from work today.

"For me to be out here and be able to help those kids out, I feel it was my job to be here today," Norris said.

The babysitter sustained a laceration to her hand going out the back window.

There was no immediate word what may have sparked the blaze.