NY Daily News – September 23, 2015
by Chelsia Rose Marcius, Larry Mcshane
The Tuesday reunion of veteran firefighter Lt. Victor Milukas and 2-year-old Justin Pierre lacked the drama of their first encounter — not that anyone complained.
The FDNY odd couple shared hugs, handshakes and gifts Tuesday as they said hello nearly a month after the heroic Milukas plucked the youngster from a raging Brooklyn fire.
Milukas, 45, performed CPR after lugging the boy’s limp body though searing heat and choking smoke at the home in Marine Park.
“Thank you,” said the boy’s mom, Deana Pierre. “You saved my son’s life.”
Milukas responded to the 1:13 a.m. fire in the Marine Park house and found the burning house choked with thick smoke, high heat and flames. The 18-year FDNY vet found Justin unconscious on the floor of a bedroom where a blazing mattress was spewing black smoke. He scooped the little boy up, carried him to safety and began performing CPR outside.
When the mom saw the scene, “I just dropped to my knees,” said Deana Pierre. “I thought he was gone. But he wasn’t.
But Milukas, who saved a 45-year-old man from a Queens fire eight years ago, was the right guy in the right place at the right time.
“I had 18 years to prepare for this moment,” he said. “I was lucky enough to be the individual who got him.”
Justin, who was placed in a medically induced coma after the daring Aug. 24 rescue, made a full recovery.On Tuesday, he received a red firefighter’s helmet, a firefighter’s jacket and a plastic pickax from his savior.
The Pierre family gave the 18-year FDNY veteran a glass sculpture. Milukas also got a woven rug bearing the Fireman’s Prayer.
“We didn’t know each other,” Milukas said at Ladder Co. 159. “And now we’re going to be lifelong friends.”
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