An elderly blind man heard his neighbor’s screams for help yesterday and did not hesitate, rushing into her burning Queens building to try to save her.
James Shackelford, 73, a retired JFK Airport cook blind from diabetes for a dozen years, then became engulfed in flames himself.
Fortunately, he wasn’t the only good Samaritan on hand. Two others, driving down 194th Street in St. Albans on their way back from church just after noon, saw Shackelford stumble out with his clothing on fire and rushed to his assistance.
“It was good he was able to make it out of his house,” said Thomas Brannon Jr., who, with Douglas Davis, rolled Shackelford on the ground to put out the flames.
Shackelford was taken to Nassau University Hospital with burns over 50 percent of his body, and remains in critical condition.
A resident of the block for more than three decades, Shackelford heard a friend and neighbor calling for help, and did not hesitate, his wife, Anna, said.
“He was always the first one to try to help,” she said. “Anyone in the neighborhood who needed something — he would always be there. He’d give up his last penny for someone.”
His daughter, Yvonne Dunson, said that although she admires her father’s bravery, he had no business going inside.
“I know you should always try to help someone, but he’s blind,” she said. “I just have to wonder what he was thinking.”