In the early hours of Sunday morning, an inferno engulfed an apartment complex in Granbury, Texas, setting the stage for a heart-stopping rescue. Volunteer firefighters from Granbury and surrounding departments arrived to battle the roaring flames, and assist a desperate mother pleading for her child’s life.
Granbury Fire Department
Phylicia Keen awoke to a terrifying sound shortly after midnight.
“At about 12:50 or 1:00 in the morning, I heard glass breaking,” she recalled. “I went into the living room and down the hallway, only to realize it was my windows shattering from flames on my balcony.”
Acting on pure instinct, Keen grabbed her four-year-old son and bolted for safety. But her two-year-old, Liam, was trapped inside the apartment.
“By the time I turned back to get him, the entire living room hallway was engulfed in black smoke,” she said.
Keen’s helplessness turned to desperation as she stood outside, surrounded by chaos. Her pleas reached the arriving firefighters, who instantly created a plan to save the toddler.
Amid the confusion, heavy flames, and choking smoke, Lieutenant Jonathan Head of North Hood County grabbed an ax and made his way to the second-floor window where Liam was believed to be.
“At that time, the sprinklers were going off,” Lt. Head recounted. “When I broke the window and climbed in, I couldn’t see a thing.”
Brian Serratelli, a Granbury Volunteer firefighter, anchored the ladder for his teammate.
“It was hectic,” Serratelli admitted. “We didn’t know exactly where Liam was in the room, but we had to try.”
Inside the darkened apartment, Lt. Head relied on one lifeline: Liam’s cries.
“His crying was like a GPS,” Head explained. “Every time he cried, I moved closer. When I brushed against him, he let out a scream, and that’s when I knew I’d found him. I picked him up out of pure excitement—he was moving, crying, alive.
The firefighters’ quick thinking and perseverance led to an outcome that even seasoned professionals found remarkable.
“What goes through our heads as firefighters is whether the outcome will be like the 80% of cases where it doesn’t end well,” said Granbury Fire Captain Bradley Snyder. “But not this time. We pulled him through the window alive. After 22 years of doing this, it was the first time I saw it go the right way.”
The relief outside was palpable.
“Them telling me he was crying was the best moment of my life,” Keen said, her voice shaking with emotion. “Just seconds before, I thought my baby was gone.”
Liam was airlifted to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, where doctors treated him for carbon monoxide poisoning. He has since been reunited with his mother, who is cherishing every moment with her son.
Though the family lost their home and belongings in the fire, Keen remains overwhelmed with gratitude.
“They are amazing heroes,” she said of the firefighters. “Angels don’t get recognized enough. They hit the ground running and didn’t stop.”
The firefighters who saved Liam were quick to deflect praise, but their courage speaks volumes. Their ability to act quickly in the face of overwhelming odds turned a potential tragedy into a story of survival.
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