by TANANGACHI MFUNI and MICHAEL WHITE
A Queens firefighter rescued his fellow Bravest from a burning house early Tuesday - and then jumped to safety from a second-floor window just seconds before the bedroom was engulfed in flames.
"As soon as they bailed out, the room lit up," FDNY Battalion Chief Patrick Ginty said of the 3:30 a.m. heroics at the two-alarm fire in Richmond Hill.
Firefighter Robert Grover of Engine 143 became trapped on the second floor of the cluttered 114th St. house as he searched for residents he believed were still inside.
When Grover couldn't escape the flames, Firefighter Anthony Romano of Engine 142 climbed a ladder to the rear bedroom to save him, officials said.
Romano ducked in through a window, found Grover in the bedroom and helped him back to the window. The pair then jumped to the ground about 20 feet below, Ginty said.
"They tumbled off of the roof and [then] fell about 10 feet," said Ginty, his face smeared with soot. "They did a great job."
Firefighters also rescued the 74-year-old homeowner, Robert Fuchs, who was sleeping in the burning house.
"Two of the firemen broke through the window and they pulled me out," Fuchs said. "If they didn't come, I'd be dead."
Fuchs was later arrested on weapons charges after fire marshals found several unlicensed guns in the house.
Grover was recovering last night at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell with burns on his neck, ears and hands. He was in stable condition. Romano was treated for minor injuries and released.
Fire officials said the blaze was accidental.
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