A mother and her two children were trapped in a burning house in Bayonne Sunday when a pair of off-duty firefighters came to the rescue.

Witnesses said a mother holding her two children cried out for help from a third-story window. Captain Jack Dunne and firefighter Mike Daly live in the neighborhood and heard the screams. They then rushed to the scene and rescued the woman and children from the third floor using a ladder.

Witnesses said the mother passed her children down the ladder before climbing out herself.

Neighbors are hailing the two as heroes.

Dunne and Daly said they are firefighters whether they?re on or off the clock. They also credited the help of several Bayonne police officers who were at the bottom of the ladder.

The three people saved from the fire were taken to Jersey City Medical Center as a precaution.