NYPD officers save grandmother, 2-year-old boy from Queens fire

OZONE PARK, Queens (WABC) -- A pair of NYPD officers just days into their new assignments are being hailed as heroes after they rescued a grandmother and her 2-year-old grandson from a burning home in Queens.

Officers John Maderik and Brian Coffey ran into the burning home in Ozone Park after a passing motorist alerted them to the fire. The officers found the 56-year-old grandmother disoriented in a smoky upstairs room looking for her belongings.

"When you're up there, you can't see what's going on," Maderik said. "In the first couple of seconds, smoke gets in your lungs, and it becomes very difficult to breathe. We had to get in and out of there pretty quickly."

The officers rushed the woman, the toddler and a dog out of the home and to safety before re-entering and kicking down a door to ensure no one else was inside.

"Of course, you never know if anyone is still up there," said Maderik, a 30-year veteran of the NYPD.

Patty Mohabir lives in the basement apartment.

"I saw the fire and the smoke," she said. "The fire was going up really fast."

Flames blew out the first floor window, with the rising smoke trapping the second-floor residents.

"They're so brave, risking their own lives," Mohabir said.