Firefighters rescued a man and woman from a burning Upper West Side building yesterday - thanks to a thermal-imaging sensor that detected the pair huddled beside a rear window blocked by a locked grate.
The firefighters had gotten everyone else out of 42 W. 65th St. near Central Park West at around 8 a.m., after the blaze started in the basement and raced up pipe recesses to the fourth floor.
The rescuers used the device to check the rear of the building, and spotted the two people crouched just inches from safety in a third-floor apartment.
The firefighters were able to reach them by the fire escape, officials said. The man, 29, had suffered smoke inhalation. The 30-year-old woman had gone into cardiac arrest.
She actually flatlined - but medics were able to get her heart beating.
Officials did not identify the woman, but residents said she was Joanne Doherty, the daughter of the building's superintendent.
Assistant Chief Michael Weinlein blamed the gate for the couple's injuries.
"We found a window gate with a lock on it. This is something we frown upon," he said. "Probably, they couldn't get the key. That's something we have to find out. We found a smoke detector, but we haven't found the batteries to it."
He said firefighters Dave Beyrer, Arnie Glavez and Mike Cruise were the ones who operated the imaging device and made the rescue. Firefighter Tim Garrett suffered burns.
Republished with permission of The New York Post.
