Kedalfax
03-07-2007, 17:36
Link (http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=602858&category=FRONTPG&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=7/3/2007)
SCHENECTADY -- Two quick-thinking telephone company workers conducted a daring rescue at a burning house on McClellan Street on Monday, using a bucket truck to carry a panicked woman from an upper floor window.
City firefighters quickly followed up with another rescue at the dwelling before being called to another house fire a few blocks away.
Verizon field technician James Reese, 45, was testing terminals for a new fiber optic network a couple of hundred feet away from the 501 McClellan St. apartment house when he noticed the smoke shortly after 9 a.m., lowered his bucket and dashed over to the house to see if anyone needed help.
After finding that a door leading to upper levels was locked, the 22-year company employee from Clifton Park said he heard a woman screaming from a third floor window. Before he was able to retrieve his own truck, he flagged down co-worker Lisa Wilkinson as she drove past on her way to another work site.
Wilkinson, 42, re-positioned the truck at least twice and Reese maneuvered the bucket loader several times to get the equipment situated to reach the woman.
Reese estimated that the process took about 3 minutes but said it seemed far longer.
"Each time we adjusted the bucket, there was more smoke," he said. "By the time I got there, I could barely make her out, there was so much smoke. . . .She was having a hard time breathing. She was frantic."
Reese said it was difficult for him to breathe at that point, too.
The woman, who Reese estimated at between 25 and 30 years old, was taken to St. Clare's Hospital for treatment of possible smoke inhalation. She was treated and released, according to the hospital. Her name was not disclosed.
Firefighters were dispatched to the 7-unit apartment house at 9:19 a.m. and arrived as Reese and the woman were coming down in the bucket.
"It was a very gutsy maneuver," Deputy Chief Scott Doherty said of Reese and Wilkinson's efforts. "It's not something we would recommend, but we certainly do commend them for their bravery."
Firefighters rescued a second tenant, a woman who apparently remained asleep in a first floor rear apartment, Doherty said. They also removed a cat and a dog, a pit bull who was frightened but cooperative during the rescue, he said.
Conditions worsened considerably as they fought the blaze, Doherty said, and firefighters were forced to withdraw from the interior for a time before declaring the fire under control at 11:30 a.m.
Just over a half-hour later, firefighters were called to a fire at a two-family house at 1074 and 1076 Baker Ave., across from Howe Elementary School.
The Baker Avenue fire apparently began in a second-floor rear bedroom, said Assistant Chief Mike Della Rocco.
A teenage girl on the second floor heard smoke alarms sound, and she alerted an older man who was a tenant on the first floor in time for both to get out safely, according to Doherty.
Two firefighters were slightly injured while fighting the fires, one with a sprained ankle and one with a small first-degree burn to the face from an ember, according to fire officials.
The causes of both fires remain under investigation, fire officials said.
Schenectady firefighters received help from Niskayuna, Scotia and Carman Road departments during the busy morning.
"Verizon. Use us, or burn to death."
SCHENECTADY -- Two quick-thinking telephone company workers conducted a daring rescue at a burning house on McClellan Street on Monday, using a bucket truck to carry a panicked woman from an upper floor window.
City firefighters quickly followed up with another rescue at the dwelling before being called to another house fire a few blocks away.
Verizon field technician James Reese, 45, was testing terminals for a new fiber optic network a couple of hundred feet away from the 501 McClellan St. apartment house when he noticed the smoke shortly after 9 a.m., lowered his bucket and dashed over to the house to see if anyone needed help.
After finding that a door leading to upper levels was locked, the 22-year company employee from Clifton Park said he heard a woman screaming from a third floor window. Before he was able to retrieve his own truck, he flagged down co-worker Lisa Wilkinson as she drove past on her way to another work site.
Wilkinson, 42, re-positioned the truck at least twice and Reese maneuvered the bucket loader several times to get the equipment situated to reach the woman.
Reese estimated that the process took about 3 minutes but said it seemed far longer.
"Each time we adjusted the bucket, there was more smoke," he said. "By the time I got there, I could barely make her out, there was so much smoke. . . .She was having a hard time breathing. She was frantic."
Reese said it was difficult for him to breathe at that point, too.
The woman, who Reese estimated at between 25 and 30 years old, was taken to St. Clare's Hospital for treatment of possible smoke inhalation. She was treated and released, according to the hospital. Her name was not disclosed.
Firefighters were dispatched to the 7-unit apartment house at 9:19 a.m. and arrived as Reese and the woman were coming down in the bucket.
"It was a very gutsy maneuver," Deputy Chief Scott Doherty said of Reese and Wilkinson's efforts. "It's not something we would recommend, but we certainly do commend them for their bravery."
Firefighters rescued a second tenant, a woman who apparently remained asleep in a first floor rear apartment, Doherty said. They also removed a cat and a dog, a pit bull who was frightened but cooperative during the rescue, he said.
Conditions worsened considerably as they fought the blaze, Doherty said, and firefighters were forced to withdraw from the interior for a time before declaring the fire under control at 11:30 a.m.
Just over a half-hour later, firefighters were called to a fire at a two-family house at 1074 and 1076 Baker Ave., across from Howe Elementary School.
The Baker Avenue fire apparently began in a second-floor rear bedroom, said Assistant Chief Mike Della Rocco.
A teenage girl on the second floor heard smoke alarms sound, and she alerted an older man who was a tenant on the first floor in time for both to get out safely, according to Doherty.
Two firefighters were slightly injured while fighting the fires, one with a sprained ankle and one with a small first-degree burn to the face from an ember, according to fire officials.
The causes of both fires remain under investigation, fire officials said.
Schenectady firefighters received help from Niskayuna, Scotia and Carman Road departments during the busy morning.
"Verizon. Use us, or burn to death."