Ladera Heights mom saves kids from burning apartment by throwing them from window

LADERA HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Ladera Heights mother sprang into action after her apartment caught fire by breaking a window with her bare hands to get her children out of harm's way.

The fire was reported at 12:55 a.m. Tuesday in a triplex apartment in the 5300 block of W. Slauson Avenue. When Los Angeles County firefighters arrived on scene, fire and smoke was seen spewing from the upstairs unit.

When the fire erupted, that mother busted out a window and was forced to toss her young children out so they would escape the flames, the kids' grandmother said.

"It started downstairs, and she had to throw the kids out the window because nobody would help, and then she was able to jump out the window. She's got a few cuts. The kids are OK, luckily. Thank God," said the grandmother, who wanted to be identified as Anita.

The mother suffered a cut on her hand from the broken glass. She was transported by an ambulance for treatment.

The blaze was knocked down by 1:20 a.m. Everyone involved in the fire is expected to be OK. The cause of the blaze was not known.