A morning fire in northern Monmouth County left four people trapped in a second-story apartment. Children also made daring escapes through upstairs windows.  

 Flames engulfed a home on Seeley Avenue in Keansburg just after 10 a.m.

A downstairs resident escaped unhurt on her own, but in the upstairs apartment, it was a race against time.

 “Officers and firemen were having a hard time getting in,” said Keansburg Police Deputy Chief Bryan King.  

 Neighbors, seeing the flames and hearing the screams, ran to help.

A man grabbed a ladder to help the three children and one adult woman trapped in the smoke and flames. 

 “Cops are usually the first ones on the scene. It’s really hard for them to be waiting for a fire truck. They act,” said Keansburg Fire Official Arthur Boden.  

 With the help of ladders, police officers pulled the youngsters through second-story windows.

In the process, an officer hurt his arm while catching a falling child.  

 “I was actually standing there watching my officers catch three young juveniles, and they did a great job,” added King.  

 Boden told News 12 while the children escaped through windows, firefighters rushed through the front door up the stairs into the burning living room where they pulled the woman out.

“I saw when they took the lady out and she was unconscious and the poor kids saw it, it’s hard,” said neighbor Lordes Newton. 

Within an hour, fire crews knocked down the flames, the children were treated for smoke inhalation and expected to be OK.  

 “They did a good job. They did really good. We are proud of the people in Keansburg,” said Newton.  

 State, county, and local agencies continue to investigate the cause of the fire, which is believed to have started in the upstairs living room.

The woman was flown to a hospital on Staten Island for emergency treatment. There is no word on her current condition.