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New York’s Bravest rescue 3 kids trapped in blaze

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Published July 29, 2014, 12:36 p.m. ET
Figherfighters Christopher Savanio, Justin Tallett, Chris Badard, Frank Blackstone and Timmy Sonnenberg of FDNY Ladder Company 107 after rescuing the children Stefan Jeremiah

Firefighters rescued three children Tuesday when a fire tore through their East New York apartment, trapping them inside, authorities said.

The blaze broke out just after 11 a.m. on the fourth floor of an eight-story building in the Pink Houses at 1308 Loring Ave. where the boys, ages 4, 5 and 8, were staying with their 66-year-old grandfather, officials said.

One of the little boys, wearing only his underwear, wasn’t breathing when firefighters saved him from the burning apartment. They gave the child CPR before pulling him out of the smoky building through the front door.

Byron Smith
“He must’ve been sleeping. He was covered head to toe in black smoke,” Darrell Wright, 32, whose mother lives on the fifth floor, said of the unconscious boy.

Firefighters attacking the blaze from the outside of the building rescued the other two children through a fourth-floor window, witnesses said.

“They brought the other two out from the window. They had smoke on them too,” Wright said.

The grandfather, who regularly watches the kids, was speechless and “in a state of shock” as the children were brought out of the blaze.

“He thought it was his fault. He was watching them,” said Wright.

A 911 caller reported that there were children trapped inside the building and hanging out the window, cops said.

The grandfather and all three children were taken to Brookdale Hospital, officials said.

The grandfather and the 5- and 8-year-old boys were treated for smoke inhalation and are listed in stable condition, cops said. The 4-year-old boy was treated for trauma and his condition is serious but stable.

A 54-year-old woman, who lives in another apartment on the fourth floor, was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene, cops said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the fire marshal.