|
|
 |
 |
by null
Firefighters in Queens made a daring rescue of a mother and her child from a third story ledge Tuesday after a fire broke out on 118th Street in Richmond Hill.
When they arrived at around 8:30 a.m., firefighters saw the woman crawling out of a window onto a snow-covered ledge trying to escape from the flames.
Two ladder companies made it to the ledge and rescued them.
The firefighters who rescued the mother and child say the snowy conditions made it tough for them, but in the end they got the job done.
"She wanted to hold on to the baby, and I kind of just calmed her down and got her to hand me the kid," said firefighter Thomas Irving. "She did a lot of work up there – the mother."
"We had our lieutenant who helped us actually place her. We couldn't really see the lady because of the smoke so he guided us in," said firefighter Sherman Smalls. "The deputy chief saw the lady initially and alerted us that she was there because we couldn't see her because of the smoke, so it was a great effort just to locate her. All we could hear when we got there was screaming. We said, 'the baby's going to be okay; the baby was in good hands. So, at that point our goal was to get her safely off the roof."
"Being a father, it's a difficult thing to hear at times," said firefighter James Mare. "It's our job to get them out and this time we were fortunate and everything proved to work out very well."
The fire was brought under control in 45 minutes.
The Hour Children building is a former convent, which is now a shelter for children whose mothers are recently relased from prison. There were 11 mothers and their babies staying in the facility at the time of the fire. Most were able to get out on their own but witnesses say firefighters acted quickly to help those who couldn't.
"The lady is crying for help, 'somebody save my baby, somebody save my baby,'" said witness Herbans Singh.
"She was holding it and the baby was like all black because it was too much fire," said witness Jitin Choudry. "And, all the smoke was coming out, and after that she came out of the window and then she got on the roof."
"Fire brigadiers came quick," said witness Raghwir Singh. "They did very fast work. And I really appreciate to them, because I saw they did very fast to pick up babies from the inside."
Four firefighters and seven people, including the mother and daughter, were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries.
As for those left homeless, neighbors are doing what they can.
"Some of us had no shoes and socks on, some of them were in pajamas and they were coming out to give us shoes and jackets -- this is not my jacket," said Sister Tesa Fitzgerald of Hour Children. "I'm just very grateful that everybody is safe."
Authorities think a candle may have been the source of the fire. Officials say flames spread quickly and residents may have tried to put out the fire themselves.
The mothers and children will now be moved to other convents in the area.
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
