20-year-old David Flunory was visiting a family member in Eleanor Roosevelt House in Bedford-Stuyvesant when he spotted mum Cipriani Lundy and her two children signalling for help from a smoke-filled room on the third floor of the apartment block.
After calling emergency services, David and his friend Kevin sprung into action themselves, saying: "We took it upon ourselves to go up there and try to help her grab the kid out."
Four-year-old Julian and 15-year-old Imani were dropped down to the two men, but unfortunately their mother sustained life-threatening injuries after she jumped from the same window.
Recalling the traumatic event, David said: "The mom passed out her kids to us and we caught them. Then when we were coming down, the daughter came down, and I gave her my jacket."
15-year-old Imani is keeping vigil by her mother's hospital bedside as she is said to be in critical condition.
The cause of the blaze, which broke out on the fourth floor, has not yet been determined.
