NY Daily News – March 15, 2015
by Ryan Sit
Three people were injured Saturday when a fire erupted in a house in Queens, officials said.
Firefighters rescued one woman who was trapped on the top floor of the two-story home after the blaze broke out in the basement on 119th Road near 118th St. in Springfield Gardens around 5:40 a.m., according to Battalion Chief Patrick Ginty.
“There was smoke pouring out of every window of this place,” Ginty said. “The boys did a good job here.”
But it wasn’t just smoke-eaters who raced to help.
Next-door-neighbor Lawrence Leone leapt into action and grabbed his own ladder after terrifying cries for help and smoke poured in through his window.
“I live right next-door and the smoke was coming in through my window and I heard the boy screaming so I ran out and grabbed the ladder and put it up,” Leone said.
After Leone, 19, and his brother placed their ladder against the burning house they helped one of the residents who couldn’t reach it, a 16-year-old boy, jump to safety from the second floor, he said.
The two good Samaritans then tried to coax the woman stuck on the top floor down but she was too afraid to crawl out through her window, he said.
That’s when firefighters arrived and extended two ladders from their trucks into the home and rescued the woman.
Leone said he didn’t think twice about springing to action.
“You can’t panic under a situation like that. You got to stay calm.”
All three residents were taken to Nassau County Medical Center in stable condition, officials said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
No comments yet.