BIDDEFORD — A Biddeford firefighter crouched low to make his way through a smoke-filled kitchen to a living room, scooped up a three-week-old baby, went back through the thick black smoke again, ran down a flight of stairs and outside.

The rescue took place Saturday as firefighters fought a hot, smoky fire on Foss Street.

The baby, who was suffering from respiratory injuries, was whisked away by ambulance to Southern Maine Medical Center, where she was stabilized before a transfer to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

At 8:30 this morning the infant was in fair condition, a Maine Medical Center spokeswoman said. According to information on MMC’s Web site, “fair” condition means a patient’s vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Further, the hospital’s definition states a patient in fair condition is conscious but may be uncomfortable.

Firefighters declined to release the name of the child, citing federal privacy laws.

Firefighters were called to the two-family dwelling at 103 Foss Street at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. A fire had started in the kitchen of the second floor unit of the recently-renovated building.

Firefighter Derick Ouellette said as he and firefighter Ken Thorpe began to unroll hose lines, they were told there was a baby still inside.

The two quickly donned their gear, including breathing apparatus, and made their way upstairs, with Lt. David Thorne behind them.

“It was real fast,” said Ouellette of the rescue. “We had good information going in. We knew where we were going,” explaining that the tenant was able to tell firefighters just where the baby was: On a couch in the living room.

“He was pointing to the room,” Ouellette said.

Ouellette, who joined the Biddeford Fire Department 12 years ago and became a full-timer five years ago, said years of training came to the forefront. Ouellette made his way through the heavy smoke of the kitchen and to the living room by feeling his way along a wall.

“I almost went by her,” he said, “I doubled-checked and felt her leg.”

Ouellette said he scooped up the baby and tucked her head inside his jacket. Then he “duckwalked” his way back through the heavy smoke, again feeling along the wall, made his way downstairs and ran with the baby in his arms to the waiting Saco ambulance, which took the child to the hospital.

Fire Chief Joe Warren said Ouellette, Thorpe and Thorne conduct trainings for other departments as well as their own. That training, he said, keeps them proficient. He said the heat and smoke were intense.

Warren said the tenant had poured some oil into a pan on the stove and was getting ready to cook clamcakes when he went to tend to another child. Smoke alarms sounded and when he returned, the pan was aflame.

Thorne, the lieutenant, said the tenant, believed to be the children’s father, was able to get a five-year-old out, but told firefighters the baby, just three weeks old, was still inside.

“Smoke was showing from a second floor window,” said Thorne. “There was high heat and smoke. Ouellette pulled her out. He did a great job.”

Warren said the older, two-unit building was recently renovated and the fire department’s special operations division, which includes a Biddeford Codes Enforcement Officer, determined the two-unit building met code requirements. The fire was confined to the kitchen and quickly extinguished, though the unit is not habitable.

An investigator with the State Fire Marshal’s Office was called in, as they are whenever someone sustains serious injuries in a fire.

“We train everyday and you expect nothing to happen and then one day, it just happens,” said Ouellette in a telephone interview Sunday afternoon.

Because of federal privacy laws, firefighters often don’t receive information on how a patient is doing after they’ve been taken to hospital.

“I hope she’s okay,” he said.

— Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or by e-mail at twells@journaltribune.com.