Bronx Firefighter Saves Family from Fire

Firefighters Patrick Mataraza (right) from Ladder 33 and Jay Prete from Engine 48, who helped rescue a family from a fire in the Bronx.

Firefighter Patrick Mataraza from Ladder 33 rescued three people from an early morning fire in the Bronx on April 21.

“We drill all the time for things like this, but you’re never really prepared for when it actually happens,” said Firefighter Mataraza, a six-year veteran of the FDNY. “But the adrenaline just kicks in.”

Firefighters were called at 4:57 a.m. for a fire on Davidson Avenue, with reports of people trapped.

When firefighters arrived, they saw people running from the building to the street and there were reports one person jumped from a second-floor window. Firefighter Mataraza said he also saw a couple and their young adult son standing at a second floor window with smoke pouring out around them.

Firefighters Patrick Mataraza and Jay Prete with members from Engine 75 and Ladder 33
in front of their rigs.

The scene was all the more poignant for the firefighter when he realized the young man has Down Syndrome, like his own 5-year-old son.

Since the smoke was so intense, the parents started dangling their son out the window as Firefighter Mataraza set up the portable ladder.

He was able to stabilize the young man on the ladder, but since he was a bit combative, Firefighter Mataraza said he was worried the young man would fall if he climbed down the ladder so he moved him back to the window.

He guided the mother to the fire escape and climb down the steps to safety, giving the father and son more room to breathe at the window.

He then coaxed the young man and his father to the fire escape and held them there with the help of Firefighter Jay Prete from Engine 48 until they were able to move the bucket ladder to carry them to safety.

The all-hands fire was brought under control at 5:48 a.m.

“This is what we get paid to do,” said Firefighter Mataraza about his first rescue. “We knew what we had to do and we did it.”

Yet he added that he is amazed at the connection he made between this family and his own, thoughtfully saying, “It gets more overwhelming the more I think about it.”