Fire Lieutenant Rescues Child from Brooklyn Fire

 

Lt. Mike Kelly, detailed to Ladder 112 from Engine 277, rescued a young boy from a fire in Bushwick, Brooklyn, on July 7.

The call was received at 3:09 p.m. for a fire in a three-story multiple-dwelling at 708 Knickerbocker Ave. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they said they saw smoke seeping from around the frames of the first floor windows.

A grandmother had escaped already, but neighbors told firefighters a child was still inside the fire apartment.

Firefighters entered the fire apartment and headed toward the front, where they were told the child would be, but Lt. Kelly said, “Thick smoke was down to the floor, and six to eight feet into the apartment the heat stopped me in my tracks.”

Fortunately, members from Engine 230 and Squad 252 were able to immediately get water on the fire, enabling him and other firefighters to reach the child.

“I heard him gasp for air twice,” he said, finding the boy face down on a bed.

He pulled the boy outside and Firefighter Brian Sammon from Engine 230 began doing CPR.

The boy was transported to New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition.

“When I see this I just think of my own two kids and hope for the best,” Lt. Kelly said.

Another victim was transported to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in serious condition and a firefighter was taken to Kings County Hospital.

The fire was placed under control by 3:46 p.m.