A gutsy woman still fighting her way back from injuries suffered in the deadly Harlem gas explosion last month thanked the firefighters who saved her life during an emotional reunion at Mt. Sinai Hospital Friday.
Carmen Quinones, 67, who lost her daughter in the blast, had to lean on a cane as she hugged the five members of FDNY Rescue One.
“I have to thank everybody but most of all I have to thank all of you. If you weren’t in that place, at that time, I wouldn’t be here right now. I’m so grateful. I’m so emotional. May God bless them,” she said, as her beaming medical team looked on.
“I’m very happy to see she’s doing well,” said FDNY Capt. Robert Morris, who helped pull her from the smoldering debris. “I’m just glad she was gonna make it because we weren’t sure.”
Quinones was on the fourth-floor of her Park Avenue home when the huge explosion rocked the neighborhood on March 12.
Rescuers caught sight of her on top of the heap of smoking debris.
“We heard a report from Ladder 14 that they saw a civilian on the pile,” said Morris, whose crew then had to scramble to the summit of the 50-foot mound.
”You had to pull yourself on the pile, and there was a lot of twisted metal, fire escapes and parts of the building that had collapsed,” said Morris, modestly recounting his crew’s heroics.
“We saw the smoke move, and there was Carmen. She was in incredibly good shape for the conditions around her. We were shocked that she was in such good shape. There was fire burning underneath, and there was a lot of smoke,“ he said. “She was lying down in the rubble.”
Morris said his partner gave his oxygen mask Quinones so she could breathe. They then they had to get her down safely through the tangled mass of twisted steel and dangerous debris.
“Visibility was very bad due to the amount of smoke. To get her down, took a lot of people,” Morris said.
Quinones suffered a brain hemorrhage, cervical spine fracture and a broken right wrist, but has gone from walking 20 feet with a cane to walking 30 minutes with minimal assistance.
She is still undergoing treatment for a clot in her lung, but is expected to be released from the hospital on Monday, and will be staying at her pastor’s home.
Doctors marveled at her incredible recovery.
“I think she has an indomitable spirit. I think she’s a tough person. I don’t think she’s going to let a building falling on her,do her in. From the the time we saw her, she was a fighter,” said Doctor Peter Taub.
Doctors said the speedy rescue proved vital to saving Quinones life.
“Being in that kind of situation in a collapsed building for a sustained amount of time, she could’ve suffered worse injuries, dehydration, and become much more sick. Getting her to the hospital quickly was lifesaving for her,” added Doctor Jason Shapiro.