An FDNY firefighter who nearly died fighting a house fire in the Bronx was released from the hospital Sunday to thunderous applause from first responders.
Kevin Paulicelli, a father of two, was discharged from Jacobi Medical Center on his own, just two days after he went into respiratory arrest and was rushed to a Bronx hospital.
Firefighters from the Bronx and Queens were on hand to greet the 38-year-old, who shook hands with his brave colleagues in an emotional moment, FDNY footage showed.
FDNY officials said Friday afternoon that Paulicelli and others reported “having trouble breathing” while moving through heavy flames inside the two-story home.
He passed out from smoke inhalation before leaving the house.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh said Friday that other first responders dragged him to the sidewalk and two doctors began administering hydroxocobalamin, a life-saving drug that reverses the effects of cyanide poisoning.
Dr Paulicelli called it a “miracle drug” outside the hospital on Sunday.
“Usually that’s what kills you. It’s that deadly smoke more than the fire itself,” said Paulicelli, who is also an Army veteran. According to CBS 2 NY.
“So the fact that it can reverse that addiction and actually bring people back to life, it really is a miracle drug.”
Another firefighter was briefly hospitalized after a fire broke out at a home in Clayson Point on Friday that took nearly two hours to extinguish.
“All the guys here, they’ve all done a great job,” Paulicelli said, according to CBS 2. What they did to me saved my life. ”
