Toddler teetering on Hamilton roof rescued by passerby
Man broke through first floor window to rescue child walking on porch roof
Navdeep Narula was serving a customer at his King Street East restaurant Wednesday when he looked out his front window to see a toddler wearing a diaper teetering on a rooftop across the road.
He lept from behind the counter and ran to the door where he saw a group of about a dozen people gathered on the ground below, ready to catch the child if it fell.
"At one point the baby kind of lost his balance and at that point my heart kind of came out of my mouth," he said. "It was like, wow!"
Video goes viral
A viral video showing the baby on the roof has racked up almost 100,000 views on Facebook.
The short, blurry clip shows an open window and a young child walking unsteadily along a red brick wall near the edge of a porch roof while a small crowd mills around below.
A folded-up baby buggy was resting on the porch of the home Friday. No one answered knocks at the door.
Const. Lorraine Edwards confirmed police were called to the home around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday about a baby out on a roof.
Police said the child was napping in his bedroom before he managed to squeeze out of the window. The service is not investigating the incident as criminal, but are reminding parents to secure windows and doors to make sure kids stay safe.
Rescuer broke through window
Edwards said the child was saved by a bystander who sprang into action.
"My understanding is he saw the baby on the roof, ran through the house and pulled the baby back through the window," she said.
Narula witnessed the rescue firsthand. He said a man ended up busting through a first-floor window.
"He broke the window, ran in and found where [the baby] came out from," he explained. "He grabbed the kid and luckily everything went well. He saved the day."
Navdeep Narula was working at his King St E restaurant when he looked out the window and saw a baby on a rooftop across the road. Listen as he describes the rescue. “Everyone was scared.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HamOnt?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HamOnt</a> <a href="https://t.co/rvYDoROpu8">https://t.co/rvYDoROpu8</a> <a href="https://t.co/l4OQHAEGoS">pic.twitter.com/l4OQHAEGoS</a>
—@CBCHamiltonThe restaurateur offered the rescuer a meal, but all he wanted was a water bottle.
Narula said he'd like to find out who the man is, so he can thank him.
"At the end of the day the child was saved and that's what has me smiling today."
Hamilton's got heart
As for the crowd that gathered, Narula said it just shows Hamilton's heart.
"I believe Hamilton is a big city, but we're kind of a small community here so we help each other and in a situation like this it sends a message that if anyone needs help we need to get together and solve the problem."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
