By David Greene
Honoring the bravery of the heroes of last week's blaze at the Pelham Parkway Houses, Councilman Jimmy Vacca paid a special visit to Ladder 41 / Engine 90.
Vacca called it, "a fire that could have been even more horrific," and the members of Ladder 41, "performed acts of bravery and saved lives," when they responded to the blaze at 795 Pelham Parkway North, on Monday, February 15.
Vacca presented a special City Council Proclamation to members of Ladder 41: Capt. James Kane, Lt. Jim Congema and firefighters Jayson Thom. John Maguire, Brian Marts, Keith Lagan, and Ron Fuentes. Three members from Ladder 32, Capt. Pat Tracey and firefighters John Wrobel and Sean O'Donnell, were also recognized.
"My commitment," Vacca continued, "has always been to make sure that firehouses stay open and working... more than ever, we're not going to allow firehouses in the city to close."
Representing members of the Pelham Parkway Houses Tenants Association, its President, Herma Williams, told the men, "We thank you for your courageous and heroic dedication to the residents of public housing, in particular, the family you saved."
Firefighter Ronny Fuentes’ bravery was captured in a single amateur photo shot by a resident of the complex. The photo showed the firefighter going down the ladder, the baby tucked safely away inside his protective coat.
Fuentes recalled, "It was like the worst thing I had seen in my life!" The Country-Club resident said he and fellow member Keith Lagan got a 35-foot ladder and raced to the baby, dangling from a fifth-floor window. He added, "I went up there and grabbed the baby as quick as possible."
As he reached the child, Fuentes explained, "I just held it really tight to my chest," before getting the child to safety, before the two returned for a woman who was afraid of heights and another child.
Fuentas added, "I'm just glad that everything worked out O.K. ... I was just glad to reach the baby and get it down." The fire hero added that, "Getting down (the ladder) was a huge relief for me."
With at least a half dozen incidents, mostly in the Bronx, with people hanging from their windows or jumping or falling out of them, Fuentes was asked what should one do in a fire; he replied, "Stay as low as possible. When I went back up to the apartment, to get the little girl, a six-year-old old, you could see where the heavy smoke was, and the lower you got, the less smoke was there."
Lagan recalled, "That was the first thing we saw, black smoke and a baby hanging out the window." He added, "He brought the baby down, handed me the baby, I wrapped the baby in a blanket and Ronnie went back up."
Asked what it felt like to save a life, Lagan, of Mahopac, N.Y., responded, "It's amazing because I have three children of my own and I have a baby that's a year and-a-half and to hold my own kid after that, it just makes it so special to know that we've affected this kid's life forever."
