FDNY's Daring Rope Rescue from Roof Saves Girl in Blaze

FDNY firefighters performed a daring rope rescue from the roof of a six-story Manhattan building to save a 5-year-old girl trapped in a two-alarm blaze early Tuesday. She was among 12 people saved by crews.

The fire broke out shortly after 4:30 a.m. on the fifth floor of a six-story building in the Washington Heights neighborhood, WABC-TV reports. When crews arrived at the scene, they found flames shooting through windows, and screaming could be heard from the upper floors.

"Firefighter Abraham Miller, Ladder 23, and I heard screaming, and we saw a kid’s little hands out of one of the windows," Ladder 34 firefighter Jairo Sosa said in an online post by the department. "I attached the rope to his harness, but I couldn’t find a place to secure the other side, so I laid down on the roof, braced myself with a heavy pipe, and held him on the rope as he made his way to the child. We train for this all the time, so I felt comfortable. I made sure not to move to ensure he was able to make the rescue,” 

Miller said he had worked with Sosa before, and that familiarity allowed them to spring into action quickly.

"It was tough, but we did what we had to do. We didn’t think twice about it," Miller said. "We practice this drill every Monday, but this was my first roof-rope rescue. This is a team effort.”

At the same time, two other firefighters performed the identical rope maneuver to rescue another person from the sixth floor.

“Firefighter Philip Ingwersen laid on the roof with another member as an anchor and lowered me to the window," firefighter Jose Castro of Squad 41 said. "I grabbed the person and said that everything was going to be OK. As I prepared to take the individual out of the window, the inside team reached the person, and we decided the safest exit was through the interior.

"Once the rescue began, all I was thinking about was saving a life," he added. "We dream of making a difference, and I was happy to have this opportunity.”

FDNY firefighters were able to rescue 12 people from the blaze, according to FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro. They were taken to the hospital to be evaluated and treated for injuries.

“This is what we train for, to be ready and prepared all the time," said Chief of Operations Thomas Richardson.