Firefighter Ellis Williams Bravely Battles Brooklyn Fire

There’s no doubt, firefighting is a dangerous job.

But on June 25, Firefighter Ellis Williams of Engine 202 proved it to be true as he battled an intense fire in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

“It was a punishing fire, but everyone working there did a great job,” said Firefighter Williams, who became a firefighter in 2006 after serving as an FDNY EMT for five years.

Dispatchers received a call at 3:42 a.m. reporting smoke in a fourth floor apartment on 774 Henry St. Within minutes, multiple calls were received for smoke conditions, fire and people trapped at the address.

As they responded, Firefighter Williams said he could smell the smoke from two blocks away.

“My adrenaline started pumping at that point,” he said. “Your training starts to kick in and you rely on what you’ve learned at the firehouse.”

Engine 202 was the first fire company to arrive on the scene, finding fire blowing out the fourth-floor windows of a six-story, multiple dwelling.

Firefighter Williams was assigned the front nozzle position, meaning he would be in charge of operating the front of the hose line and getting water on the fire, and Firefighter Matthew O’Sullivan (assigned to Ladder 101) backed him up.

As they began hooking up the hoseline, Lt. Peter Traut located the fire inside the building and directed firefighters to the fourth floor.

Before opening the door, Firefighter Williams said, “you could see there was heavy fire in the apartment.”

The steel frame around the door was bending and buckling, and they could see the flames starting to come through into the hallway.

After opening the door and moving about three or four feet into the apartment, Firefighter Williams said, “I could feel my ear burning through the [protective] hood. We couldn’t move because it was so hot.”

He said his knees and shins also were burning through his protective gear. He reached a point where he did not think he could go any further, but he said he thought, “I’m in pain but I have to keep going because there’s nobody to help these [trapped] people but us.”

After a short time, members of Ladder 131 were able to move in to a back room, where they found an unconscious victim. She was found in a protected spot just below the window out of which fire had been blowing.

“The members of Ladder 131 took risks to get there, but they refused to give up,” said Firefighter Williams. “They did a great job.”

Yet instead of patting himself on the back for helping to successfully get the fire under control by 4:17 a.m., Firefighter Williams continually praised the work of his fellow firefighters.

“Everybody there kept their head and did an outstanding job,” he said. “We all did it together and that’s what made it go so well.”

Firefighter Williams received second degree burns to his shins, knees and ears while battling the fire. Six other firefighters were treated for minor injuries, including burns. Four civilians were treated for serious injuries and one for minor injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation by fire marshals.