The FDNY said it arrived only just in time to rescue three young children from a raging fire in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx.

“The top floor of the building was completely engulfed and raging. Windows blown out, fire coming out,“ described eye witness Miosotis Linares.

The flames broke out around 9:30 a.m. Monday morning on the second floor of an apartment building near the corner of Burke and Barnes Avenue. 

It took firefighters three minutes to arrive to the scene and rush in to rescue the children trapped inside.

“Right above them was a window. I took out the air conditioner, the room lit up a little bit where we could see,” explained FDNY Captain Daniel McEnroe. "That’s where we saw the three kids. They looked like they were sleeping. They were all huddled together and they looked like they were sleeping and then we just moved as fast as we can to get them out."

The three young girls were taken to Jacobi Medical Center in critical condition, but are expected to survive.

The NYPD says the mother of the three children is being charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Police say the children were left home alone, the youngest child just 16 months old, along with a three-and-six-year old. 

“They could’ve died and you were responsible for that, you are never going to live that down. Don’t leave your kids at home by themselves. You never know what happens. You never know,” said Linares.

The FDNY is calling it a tragedy avoided, and an example of just how much every single second counts.

“It is safe to say that fire suppression got to them in the nick of time and we able to hand them over to EMS. This way the definitive care that we give was able to work,” added FDNY EMS Deputy Assistant Chief Paul Miano.

The FDNY said the investigation is ongoing into what caused the fire and if there were any smoke alarms present.