EAST POINT, Ga. -- It was as if the baby had dropped through a trap door. A terrified mom said she watched as her 1-year-old son fell into a storm drain while they were sitting on the edge of their street enjoying their Sunday evening.
She frantically called 911, and firefighters were on the scene within minutes.
"I was saying if you all don't hurry up, I'm going to jump in there myself," said the mother, T'pring Brown of East Point, on Monday.
But when the crew from the East Point Fire Department arrived and lifted the drain's cover, they discovered the opening was too small and quickly called in their compact rescue specialist -- Rosa Tullis, a firefighter who stands 4-foot-11.
"In the cars, in the windows, down the holes, typically it's going to be me because I am the smallest," Tullis said. "I'm slightly claustrophobic, and I'm not comfortable with it, but I'm definitely the likely choice."
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Tullis barely fit through the drain's opening as she was lowered down with a harness. She couldn't reach the child on her first try, she said, but was successful on her second. She lifted him over her head and up to safety, she said. Both of them escaped with minor scrapes and bruises.
"That's when the tears came. It was just great to get him and see that he was safe," Tullis said. "It definitely was a joint effort, so everybody was happy and hugging and clapping."
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