Now, Hail Mary.
A brave firefighter burst into a burning Staten Island home to retrieve a baby from a smoke-filled basement, then dramatically handed him off to another flame eater through a window, officials said. .
Lt. Anthony Harper of Engine 163 was the first firefighter to respond to multiple reports of a trapped fire at 267 Ada Drive in Graniteville around 3:45 p.m. Friday, according to FDNY Deputy Chief Sgt. John Russell later spoke to reporters at the scene.
Russell said Harper didn't hesitate when civilians informed him that there was still a baby inside.
“Harper went into the basement – there was very heavy smoke – and he found the baby on the bottom bunk in the back of the house.
“He noticed that there was a window right there, and in an attempt to get the baby into as clean air as possible, he started walking past the baby who had just stepped outside, instead of passing through the apartment he had just come from. “Get out into the fresh air,'' Russell explained.
Thankfully, Engine 166's Ryan Smith happened to be standing outside the same window and lifted the baby from Harper, Russell said.
The baby was treated by paramedics at the scene and then taken to Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze, where she was listed in critical condition, according to the FDNY.
According to the police, two adults and two children who had voluntarily evacuated were also taken to the hospital.
Firefighters brought the two-alarm fire under control within 40 minutes, Russell said.
Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.
