Firefighter Makes Daring Rescue in Harlem

Firefighter Mark Victorio of Ladder 30

Firefighter Marc Victorio of Ladder 30 saved the life of a woman trapped on her windowsill during a second-alarm fire in Harlem on Jan. 15.

“It’s a good feeling,” said Firefighter Victorio. “Hopefully everything works out for the best.”

At 5:26 a.m. a call was received for a fire on the second floor of a brownstone on W. 132nd St.

When units arrived, fire was blowing out the front door on the parlor floor and heavy smoke was pouring out above it.

Units saw a woman standing on the ledge of a fourth floor window, directly above the 40 x 60 building’s front door.

Firefighters from Ladder 30 extended the aerial ladder to the woman and Firefighter Victorio climbed to her window.

“I tried to reassure her that she would be OK,” said Firefighter Victorio, a six-year veteran of the FDNY.

He said he put his hand out to help her to the ladder, but “she hesitated, then turned around and jumped into my arms.”

She was transported to Harlem Hospital Center with second- and third-degree burns.

“You just give everyone a pat on the back and are grateful things worked out well,” Firefighter Victorio said hours later.

Deputy Chief Paul Mannix of Division 6 agreed, “This woman was in peril by all accounts, and the members of Ladder 30 were able to quickly put the ladder up and save her life. It could have been much, much worse.”