Good Samaritans help rescue 74 kids from burning daycare in south Houston
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A daycare center caught fire Friday, forcing the evacuation of children and workers, authorities said.
It happened around 3:30 p.m. at the Southmore Kiddie Kollege in the 3200 block of Southmore Blvd.
Seventy-four children and 10 employees were inside the facility when the fire broke out on the second floor, daycare staff said.
"I'm just thankful nobody was hurt," the owner said.
The daycare's director said that a staff member smelled smoke and went upstairs to investigate when they saw flames.
ABC13's Shelley Childers talked to the daycare owner on Live at Five
The worker rushed downstairs, pulled the fire alarm, and began to evacuate the children.
Good Samaritans like Cheryl Wilson, who works nearby, saw what was happening and ran in to start getting kids out.
Wilson says people started to form a human chain to get the children out. Within minutes, all 74 children had been evacuated.
The facility is three stories and only the first floor is occupied by the child care facility.
The second and third floors were used for storage, the owner said.
Children were initially relocated to a nearby business while fire crews worked to put out the flames.
Most had been picked up by parents a few hours later.
The remaining children were relocated to another facility until their parents were able to pick them up.
There's no word on a cause of the fire.
