Firefighter rescues woman hanging out window as home burns in Central Islip
CENTRAL ISLIP, Suffolk County (WABC) -- Firefighters rescued a woman who was hanging out the window of her Central Islip home as it burned Tuesday night.
The victim was spotted trapped on the second floor of the Oakland Avenue house just after 9:15 p.m.
One man and another person had escaped the flames, but the woman was unable to get out.
Police first tried to rescue her with a homeowner's ladder, but an arriving fire engine then deployed its ladder and two firefighters and the captain saved the woman.
Firefighters Juan Sanchez and Ken Ruddick spoke out on Wednesday and described what happened.
"She was gasping for air and it was obvious she was in distress," Ruddick said.
Firefighters arrived at the scene six minutes after the 911 call came in and just three minutes after they got to the firehouse, but the time it took to climb up that ladder and make the rescue was less than one minute.
Ruddick said if it had been a minute or two later, there could have potentially been a different outcome.
The woman who was saved and two other adults were taken to the hospital for treatments of minor injuries.
Two Suffolk police officers were also taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
The fire, which destroyed the home, was put out in about an hour.
The gusty conditions Tuesday night were brutal as the nor'easter blew through and the wind fed the flames. It took more than 100 firefighters from six different departments to put out the blaze.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it is not believed to be suspicious.
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