Quick-thinking firefighters pulled a senior man from his smoke-filled Brooklyn home after a large blaze broke out Wednesday morning, fire officials said.
Firefighters from Ladder Company 157 snatched the man from an attic window after he became trapped in the house because of a basement fire that was sending flames out of windows of the home.
The fire broke out shortly after 9 a.m. on Oct. 21 at 620 East 40th Street in East Flatbush. When the first units arrived, they found heavy fire blowing out of the basement windows of the home and an elderly man hanging out of an attic window.
Fire commanders called for an “all-hands” on arrival, bringing in additional firefighters to try to save the wood frame home that is nearly a century old. Meanwhile, Firefighters Firefighters Christopher Howard, with 15-years on the job & Chris Mascali with nearly eight years as a firefighter, climbed the ladder and were able save the man from heavy smoke enveloping the home.
In a statement, fire officials said:
Members of Ladder 157 were alerted by civilians on the street level that there was a man located in the top floor on the building. Members report they could see the gentlemen straddling the windowsill in the front of the building and that he was surrounded by a high volume of smoke. Ladder 157 utilized their tower ladder to get to the victim. They were able to transfer him from the window into the bucket and safely bring him to ground level where he was treated by EMS.
He was taken to Downstate Medical Center where he was treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire was brought under control by 10:15 a.m., but by then the basement and first floor suffered heavy damage. Officials say heavy clutter in the basement made the job that much more difficult to control.
The fire is currently under investigation by fire marshals, though it was not considered suspicious.
