Rookie FDNY firefighter saves baby after man sets apartment on fire with kids inside
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Rookie FDNY firefighter Jordan Sullivan of Ladder 105 and veteran Firefighter Bryan Kelly from Squad 1 each save a child from an apartment fire in Brooklyn early Sunday morning.
Police are accusing a man of setting fire to the Brooklyn apartment where his girlfriend’s children were sleeping early Sunday, and the kids had to be rescued by firefighters.
NYPD says the 22-year-old boyfriend, Thaddeus Boone, is charged with attempted murder, arson, assault and burglary. Police allege he started the fire in the Boerum Hill home after an argument with his girlfriend.
The children, an infant boy and an 8-year-old girl, were sleeping in separate bedrooms in the third-floor apartment on Third Avenue when the fire erupted shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday.
Firefighter Jordan Sullivan of Ladder 105, who graduated from the fire academy in December, found the 5-month-old unconscious, according to the Daily News.
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Every firefighter remembers his or her first fire, but Probationary Firefighter Jordan Sullivan’s experience was especially memorable. His first fire was also his first rescue – a 5-month-old baby boy.
“It’s a blessing to serve the community,” said Firefighter Sullivan from Ladder 105, who has been on the job only three months.
At 2:15 a.m. on March 16, firefighters were called to Third Avenue in Brooklyn with reports of a fire.
When they arrived, Firefighter Sullivan said he immediately smelled smoke and senior members of the fire company told him that “this looked like something big.”
They rushed to the fifth floor of the high rise building and found thick smoke and high heat in the hallway outside the fire apartment. He followed Lt. John Lababera in, first searching behind the front door and then turned left to search the room for victims.
“On way in, a woman said babies were in the apartment, so we were definitely gung ho,” he said.
He then began to search a bedroom, quickly finding a carriage with a 5-month-old baby inside.
“I just grabbed him and rushed for the door,” he said.
The child was unconscious and not moving when he passed him to another firefighter in the hallway, who carried him to awaiting EMS members on the street. Firefighter Sullivan then reentered the apartment to continue his search.
FDNY EMTs Aziza Rasheed and Bryan Deliz transported the infant to the hospital in critical condition, and he is reported to be improving.At the same time, Firefighter Bryan Kelly from Squad 1 found an 8-year-old girl in the apartment and she was transported to the hospital in critical condition by FDNY Paramedics Richard Alicea and Jason Sutherland.
Firefighter Sullivan said he was thrilled to hear the baby’s health is improving, saying, “I’m on a cloud.”
He said he wanted to be a firefighter after 9/11 and worked hard to reach his goal, graduating in December 2013.
He credits his outstanding work to the instructors at the Fire Academy, where he served in Bravo 11, and the members of Ladder 105, “who are always drilling and pushing me to do better.
