by ANDREW MINUCCI
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Ten people, including seven children and teenagers, were rescued from a Staten Island family's boat on Jamaica Bay late Saturday afternoon, after some of the children were found unconscious below deck from potentially deadly levels of carbon monoxide.
The Coast Guard and the FDNY's emergency marine operations responded to a radio call about 5 p.m. from panicked Tottenville resident Vilma Aviles, who told operators four children on the boat had blacked out.
"We knew they were going to be all right when [the children] started crying," said Firefighter Brian McCarrick, who was among the first to respond to the scene.
"It was a good thing we were close," Firefighter Glen Johnson told the Daily News. "In a few more minutes, it could have been fatal. We were just in the right place at the right time."
Two children were rushed to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx and two were taken to Peninsula Hospital in Far Rockaway. The other three children were taken to Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn, where, according to a hospital official, at least one person, 12-year-old Stephen Matrangolo, remains in stable condition.
Carbon monoxide levels aboard the 39-foot cabin cruiser, dubbed the "Lady V," were reportedly "out of sight," according to FDNY Chief Jim Dalton, director of marine operations. The odorless and colorless but deadly gas was measured at 800 parts per million, a potentially lethal level. Buildings are normally evacuated when 90 parts per million of the gas is present, Dalton said.
Neither FDNY nor Coast Guard officials could say last night whether the boat was equipped with a carbon monoxide monitor.
At her home yesterday, Ms. Aviles, owned of the Lady V according to public records, would only say that all the children were safe and well. "Everything is fine," she said.
A man at the residence, who refused to give his name, described the children's condition as "100 percent." He added: "All the kids are fine."
According to published reports, the "Lady V" is registered to Ms. Aviles.
Although an investigation to determine the cause of the carbon monoxide leak is pending, authorities suspect it originated from a generator below deck, only feet below where some of the children were riding.
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