An off-duty Houston Fire Department (HFD) cadet caught a toddler as she fell from the balcony of her family’s third-floor apartment in a chance encounter that earned the cadet praise, a local outlet reported Monday.
Zach Johnson was speaking with his mother, Takeya, in the apartment’s parking lot mostly about his day after finishing his third week as a cadet at the HFD Academy when they both spotted Carter, 2, trying to scale the balcony railing, Click2Houston reported.
“She ends up putting one foot on the railing and I’m just like, No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Please don’t do that. Please don’t do that,” Zach Johnson told the outlet.
Takeya Johnson raced up the stairs but the toddler released her grip, lost her balance and fell over the railing. Zach Johnson, who had remained on the ground just below, caught the toddler just in time. (RELATED: Video Shows Police Officer Making Superhero-Like Move To Save Child From Onrushing Train)
“This is my calling and I am right for the job,” Zach later told the outlet.
HFD‘s Chief of Professional Development Mike Brown praised Zach, saying, “You could see something in the textbook. But the way he reacted, I mean, it’s just instinctual. I mean, it’s you know, again, this kid, I have that calling, and he presents every bit of that.”
“One harrowing moment and one split-second decision changed the lives of everyone in this amazing story. Our hats off to Cadet Johnson for his outstanding show of heroism,” the HFD said.
“She kind of opens her hands where she’s not kind of having support on the railing and she loses her balance and falls off,” Johnson said, according to Click2Houston. “I fell all the way down to my knees, scuffed up my pants. I start palpating her, making sure, you know, she was responsive, she was crying. So, on her airway was fine, you know, making sure her spine was fine.”
Carter’s mother, Chase Armstrong, said she had been tending to the toddler’s two-month-old sibling in the apartment when Carter slipped out after her elder brother, Brayden, 6, while the pair were playing. The children’s father was away at work.
Chase called Brayden back in but realized Carter was not with him and began searching, ignoring Takeya Johnson’s knocking on the door until the volume increased.
“And when I opened the door, there was a lady that I had never seen before telling me that my baby fell over the balcony,” Chase told the outlet. She swiftly made her way down to retrieve Carter.
Emergency personnel checked and cleared the toddler after receiving a 911 call. Chase has repeatedly thanked Zach, calling him a hero.
Zach told Click2Houston that being called a hero was “a big compliment” but saving Carter was “the most top tier thing” and he was glad he did not freeze in that tense moment.
A tearful Takeya, having witnessed her son’s first rescue effort, told the outlet it was “just awesome,” adding, “you can’t beat that, you saved somebody’s life.”