FDNY firefighters performed a rope-roof rescue to save a woman trapped on the 16th floor of a burning residential building Tuesday.
When crews arrived shortly before 1:30 p.m. at the apartment fire in Harlem, they found a panicked woman at a 16th-floor window, according to the FDNY. As an inside team forced their way into the woman's apartment, two other firefighters made their way to the 17th floor.
"There was a woman on the window sill outside of her window, and I stayed at the window and tried to calm her down, and told her not to jump, that we were going to come and get her," said firefighter Brian Quinn, of Ladder 30. "My lieutenant, Jason Norwich, was inside trying to coax her in, but she was completely panicked, and she was not going to let go."
Once the smoke coming from the burning apartment started lifting, the firefighters decided to perform a rare rope-roof rescue. Quinn descended the building and reached the woman, to the cheers and applause from witnesses on the street and nearby buildings.
"I was right behind her, so if she did decide to jump or let go, I was holding her to the glass," said Quinn "I just said, ‘I’m not going to let you fall. We’re going to get you inside.’"
Although the rescue is seldom performed, FDNY firefighters routinely train for it. In fact, firefighters were practicing the drill two hours before Tuesday's rescue, Quinn said.
"It’s something that’s rarely done, and yet they exercised their skills quickly, they assessed the situation quickly, and they did what had to be done bravely," said FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro. "Thanks to their bravery, thanks to their efforts, and thanks to their ingenuity in being able to tie this rope off, we have someone who was saved here on Lenox Avenue. It’s a happy day for her, and it’s a happy day for all of us."
