Firefighters took on a fire that left three people injured in Brooklyn on Sunday evening.
At 6 p.m. on June 5, the FDNY responded to a fire on the first floor at 4545 Kings Highway. Firefighters learned that a mother and child were trapped in the home, and crawled through heavy smoke and fire in order to find them.
Off-duty firefighter Stefon Douglas of Engine Company 276, who happens to live on the same block, rushed to the scene and sprang into action, ultimately pulling the mother and child from the fire.
“I had just got off work, pulled on my block and [saw] the fire happening,” said Douglas. “I had a SCBA in my truck from a career day I did last week. I put it on, tried to go in the front of the house but was unable to due to the heat.”
Douglas then ran to the back of the house, where he saw someone using a garden hose to try and extinguish the fire. He took the hose and tried to knock back the fire as much as he could, but heard crying coming from the rear bathroom at the home.
“[I] did a left-hand search found the little girl, pulled her out, [and] handed her to a family member in the backyard with me,” said Douglas. “I picked back up the garden hose and kept the fire from extending until the inside team of Ladder 159 told me they got it from there.”
The victims had been overcome by acidic smoke and suffered from severe smoke inhalation. The mother and child were transported to Staten Island North Shore Hospital in critical condition. A firefighter suffered minor injuries and was taken to Downstate University Hospital for treatment.
Firefighters were able to knock back the fire with one hose line, and the fire was placed under control by 6:37 p.m. A family friend told amNewYork Metro that the mother was cooking dinner for the family when the fire started. The FDNY Fire Marshal will investigate the cause of the fire.
