NY Daily News

Heroe of the Month

"Nine out of 10 people tell us someone is trapped, and there's no one there," Leinz said.

He ran down a narrow passageway to check the rear, where he saw a young woman dangling a baby from a third-floor window as thick smoke pushed out.

Leinz called to her, "Hold on... we're gonna get you"

He said he had people at the window before, "but never as dramatic. She was cut off from the fire escape, there was no other option but to take her and the baby down a ladder."

A ladder was fully extended to 35 feet and placed in a cantilever position due to the obstruction of a 6-foot, concrete wall with a fence and barbed wire on top, but it still fell short of the window.

Because the ladder company had arrived at the blaze before the engine company, Leinz and fellow Firefighter David Donatelli were faced with executing their rescue mission without any water being used on the fire. Still the two Bravest saved the mother and daughter an act Leinz and Donatelli considered to be all in a day's work.

For the two firefighters' courage, dedication, fast action, and Leinz's disregard for his own safety, exposing himself to great risk ascending an unstable ladder and entering the fire apartment without water, they are the Daily News Heroes of the Month.

Leinz, 28, Donatelli, 41, and their company had been out and were returning to the firehouse on Walton Ave. when they got the call about the fire at 2420 Grand Ave. at 11:40 .a.m. on July 2.

After Leinz saw Shakina Hinton, 18, and her 11-month-old daughter, Shakir, at the window, he notified a team of firefighters inside the building that people were trapped. Smoke was blowing out other third floor windows, at the fire escapes, and the inside team said there was fire in the hallway of the apartment, blocking the bedroom where the victims were trapped.

"They had no way out," said Donatelli.

Engine 75 was still on the way, so there was no hose line on the fire.

"The biggest thing was to get the kid," said Leinz. "I did'n't want her to panic."

He called to Donatelli to bring the heavy, portable ladder that is the largest they carry on the truck. They set it up and fully extended it. But the alley was lower than the sidewalk, making for a four-story, 40-foot climb.

"Leinz, undaunted by the extremely dangerous position, climbed the ladder to the top rung. . . . stood on top, arms extended, and told the mother to give him the baby," according to the report filed by his supervisor.

"Dave held the ladder, and the mother was pretty calm," said Leinz. "I took my helmet off so I could see up the ladder.I put the baby in my arm, held it tight to my chest. It was very calm, it seemed content to be out of the smoke."

He handed the baby to Donatelli, who met him half way on the ladder, and then went back up.

"Using all his strength, Leinz pulled himself up and into the top of the open window, in heat and smoke," the report continued.

"There was a child-guard gate on the window, and from the angle of the ladder I couldn't get the gate off, so I got over it," Leinz said.

When he got inside, he saw Hinton sitting on the bed, her face out of the window to get fresh air. "I told her, "Give me one more minute," and he forced the gate off the window.

"I had her under the arms, and Dave guided her legs to the ladder, where Dave was on the top rung," Leinz said. "The whole process seemed like an eternity. It went as smoothly as it could."

Then he put his air mask on and searched the bedroom in case there were other victims.

"Things got really tough, it was a precarious situation," said Donatelli "But everything worked out fine."

"When you pull up [to a fire], you go through options pretty quickly," said Leinz. "The girl out front was right this time. I thought, Okay, here we go . . . Jeez.' "

"It's the best thing I've ever been personally involved in," said Donatelli, an 11-year FDNY veteran. "It's a nice feeling."

Leinzz is a Hofstra University graduate in banking and finance, but joined the FDNY after 9/11, like many people who wanted to do something more.

Donatelli worked at busy Ladder 176 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, before joining Ladder 33. "I wanted to come here because of the history of this house," he said.

Today, as this story honors Leinz and Donatelli, a plaque is to be unveiled at their firehouse, with the names of Firefighter Michael Reilly and Lt. Harry Carpluk, who perished a year ago today battling a fire in a 99 Cent store.