Off-Duty FDNY Pair Save Boy

The two had never met until they ran into the burning building.

Nov. 23, 2005

(New York - WABC, November 23, 2005) - A ten year-old boy owes his life to a pair of off-duty firefighters. Two men who had never met until they both ran into a burning building.

The men saw smoke and flames pouring from a home on 137th Street in Queensboro Hill. Even though they had no protective gear and no oxygen, both men worked their way through the smoke-filled home.

The boy is now recovering in flushing hospital.

Steve Devaney, FDNY: "That's what you're trained to do. You don't think that you don't have your mask or gear or anything on. It's a matter of keeping going and if you can grab somebody and save a life you do."

Tommy Morgan, FDNY: "He was just happy to be out of there. He just wanted dad. He was like 'no I can't go to the hospital, dad's coming.'"

Seven people were hurt in the fire but no one was seriously hurt.

About the Author

Billy Goldfeder

BILLY GOLDFEDER, EFO, who is a Firehouse contributing editor, has been a firefighter since 1973 and a chief officer since 1982. He is deputy fire chief of the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department in Ohio, which is an ISO Class 1, CPSE and CAAS-accredited department. Goldfeder has served on numerous NFPA and International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) committees. He is on the board of directors of the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.