Four Car MVA

Brooklyn: 4th Avenue and 58 street FDNY, EMS and NYPD were on the scene with a 4 car MVA.

EMS transported 3 Patients with unknowen injuries to Lutheran Medical Center.

(NYBuff.org NewsDesk)

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Uncle Saves Child From Burning Building

A two-year-old boy was rescued from a blazing building after his hero uncle escaped out an 8th floor window and with the toddler still clinging around his neck, raced down an FDNY ladder to safety, relatives said.

Quick-thinking Willis Febow, 22, raced to a window after flames ripped through apartment 8G at 388 Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan at 7:35 a.m. Braving smoke and heat, Febow grabbed his nephew, Emory Vasquez, and scrambled down a tower ladder leaning against the building.

Responding firefighters met the victims halfway up and helped them down the rest of the way.

“I was told that my daughter, Justine, and my grandson, Emory, were hanging outside of their window and I nearly had a heart attack,” said Emory’s shaken grandmother, Judith Hernandez. “All I can say is thank you Lord, thank you for keeping them safe. They weren’t injured but they will be resting inside for a while.”
The fire sent panicked residents fleeing.

“I had just gotten home and was 15 minutes into sleep when I heard my sister calling me. She was yelling fire, fire and I looked out my window and there was smoke coming out of my building and I freaked out," said witness Elvis Diaz, 29, who ran outside.

Febow and Vasquez were treated and released from Beekman Hospital.

Responding firefighters met the victims halfway up and helped them down the rest of the way.

“I was told that my daughter, Justine, and my grandson, Emery, were hanging outside of their window and I nearly had a heart attack,” said Emory’s shaken grandmother, Judith Hernandez. “All I can say is thank you Lord, thank you for keeping them safe. They weren’t injured but they will be resting inside for a while.”

The fire sent panicked residents fleeing.

“I had just gotten home and was 15 minutes into sleep when I heard my sister calling me. She was yelling fire, fire and I looked out my window and there was smoke coming out of my building and I freaked out," said witness Elvis Diaz, 29, who ran outside."

Febow and Morel were being treated at Beekman Hospital for minor injuries.
(Source: NY Post)

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Second Alarm Fire

A two-alarm fire ripped through a Turtle Bay apartment building Thursday morning after apparently being sparked in a dry cleaning shop on the ground floor — leaving two people injured, according to the FDNY.

More than 100 firefighters from 25 units raced to the blaze that spread to the dumbwaiter shaft in the building at East 50th Street and First Avenue just before noon.

One firefighter and one resident were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, an FDNY official said.

Marty Wolf, a 73-year-old resident who lives on the second floor, said she smelled smoke just before noon, then saw thick clouds pouring into the hall.

Wolf tried to dial 911, but her phone was dead, she said. She grabbed some cash and fled to a courtyard in the rear of the building.

"I was standing in the courtyard and I saw flames coming out of my kitchen window," Wolf said.

Deputy Chief John Hilley, of Division 3, said the blaze appeared to have started in Ching Cleaning, a dry cleaners inside the building. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Inspectors from Con Ed were called after the smell of gas was detected in the basement, FDNY officials said.
(Source: DNAinfo)

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Mom Throws Baby Out Window to Escape Suspicious Fire

A desperate mother threw her baby out the second-floor window of a Queens home that was engulfed by a suspicious blaze early Thursday, fire authorities and witnesses said.

The child landed safely in the arms of civilians who gathered on the sidewalk next to the flaming building, said Dan Delargy, one of the first FDNY responders with Ladder 155.

Delargy said the baby, a 15-month-old boy, came flying out the window as he was walking in the front door of the Jamaica home.

"As we were getting set up, the lady couldn't wait for us and she dropped her baby out the window," Delargy said. "She was hanging out as far as she could and there were civilians walking by and they caught the baby."

One of those civilians, Shamel Lawrence, told NBC New York that he and another man put out their hands so they wouldn't miss the child.

"We made like a net to catch the baby," he said.

The child and mother are expected to be fine. Nine people, including three firefighters, were sent to the hospital with minor smoke-related injuries, the FDNY said. It wasn't clear if the baby or mother were among those victims.

Fire officials got the call for the blaze at the private home on Rockaway Boulevard just before 3 a.m. The fire was contained to the second floor.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but officials are considering it suspicious.

Captain Anthony Varriale said the blaze appears to be intentionally set.

The fire began in a public hallway of the home, Varriale said. That could suggest arson because there is no source that would contribute to such intense flames so quickly, he said.

The investigation is ongoing.
(Source: NBC)

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All Hands Fire

A woman was seriously injured in a fire at a cluttered Gravesend building Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The blaze erupted on the second floor of 2500 McDonald Ave., near Avenue X, just before 1 p.m., according to the FDNY.

Fire sources said a search of the building was delayed because of severe clutter, a condition firefighters call a Collyers' Mansion, named for a Harlem brownstone where brothers Homer and Langley Collyer were found dead in 1947 amid tons of stockpiled possessions.

It was not clear where the woman was hospitalized.
(Source: DNAinfo - Photo By: @ToddMaisel)

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Firefighters Help Deliver Baby in Queens

Firefighters from Engine 298 started the Feb. 23 in an extraordinary way, helping a Queens woman deliver a healthy baby boy.

"It was one of the good runs," said Lt. Kevin Gallagher. "I’m glad everything went well and as smoothly as possible."

A nervous father called 911 at around 8 a.m., saying his partner was giving birth at their home on 138th Place.

The members of Engine 298 were first on the scene and were met at the front door by the father, who directed them to the second floor apartment.

Lt. Gallagher said the expectant mother was on the bed and the baby was crowning.

Firefighters moved quickly to prepare for the delivery and within five minutes, Firefighter Scott Fried was holding the newborn baby boy – the couple’s second child.

Firefighters Jim McCarren and Michael Renzulli cut the cord and wrapped the baby as Paramedics Juan Criado and Vanes Tenorio, and EMTs Kevin Kuck and Amanda Uster arrived.

They suctioned the baby’s mouth and nose, and checked his respiration and heart beat, and said everything seemed healthy.

Together they carried the mother and baby downstairs and transported them to Jamaica Hospital.

Lt. Gallagher said he has two children, Firefighter Renzulli has four, and Firefighters Fried and McCarren each have two.

He said none of the firefighters had delivered a baby before (although they have been trained on how to do so) and everyone remained calm. He also added: "We were just there to help – this baby was coming whether we were there or not."

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City Bus Kills Harlem Man Less Than a Day After Similar Accident in Queens

A city bus hit and killed a man in Harlem early Thursday, just hours after another MTA vehicle fatally struck a woman in Queens.

Willie Gonzalez, 25, of West 111th Street, was walking south on St. Nicholas Avenue when he was hit by an M60 bus moving west on 125th Street at 1:15 a.m., police and transit officials said.

Paramedics rushed him to St. Luke's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later, an MTA spokeswoman said.

The driver of the bus remained at the scene and has not been criminally charged.

On Wednesday, Meilan Jin, 22, died after a Q44 bus turned onto her as she crossed Northern Boulevard and Union Street in Flushing, Queens.

"I can't believe it right now," said a woman claiming to be Jin's roommate, who only identified herself as Ms. Kim.

Kim said Jin, who was Korean but raised in China, immigrated to the U.S. 18 months ago. She worked in a nail salon in Westchester, Kim said.

"She had so many dreams," Kim added. "She was such a nice girl, so cute and so honest. She was always so happy, and had many friends here."

The driver of the bus left the scene, unaware she had hit anyone, police said.

She was not charged.

Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the MTA, said the authority is conducting its own investigations into both accidents.

"These are two unfortunate incidents," he said.
(Source: DNAinfo)

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NYPD Bust Blog Commenter For Threatening Top Cop

A Brooklyn man charged with posting a belligerent blog comment that threatened to kill the city’s top cop never meant to act on the ominous words, his lawyer said Wednesday.

“Ray Kelly is the enemy of the people and the constitution,” Richard Strauss, 49, wrote on the Gothamist website this week. “A well placed round of 7.62 ammo to his thick skull would work quite well to eliminate the threat that he poses. All New Yorkers should aim their sights (both figuratively and literally) on this piece of excrement.”

Police noticed the comment and quickly tracked down Strauss at his East Flatbush home, then arrested him for making a terroristic threat and harassment.

“He had no intent to make any harm,” the defense lawyer said at his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court. “It was merely a post in a blog. Nothing more.”

Defense attorney James Galleshaw said prosecutors will have a difficult time proving the terror charge.

“This guy is not a terrorist in any way at all,” he said. “He has strong opinions not everyone agree with. He’s really not a threat to anybody.”

Strauss, a computer tech who lives with his mother, said nothing when he left court after posting a $10,000 bail. He is facing up to seven years in prison.

An order of protection was also issued, barring him from getting near or contacting the police commissioner.

He was previously charged in 2004 for firing shots out of his window, police said.

When Strauss was arrested, court documents allege, he said that he “does not like police officers” and that Kelly “was not welcome” at his home.

Gothamist publisher Jake Dobkin complied with the police subpoena for Strauss’ IP address because the comment contained “a clear death threat against a public official,” he wrote on the website Wednesday.

“That’s not the kind of comment or commenter that we want on our site,” he added.
(Source: Daily News)

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Cyclist Struck

Boro Park: A cyclist was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of 17 Ave & 52 St.

Hatzolah EMS Transported the victim to Lutheran Medical Center with injuries but in stable condition.

{NYBuff.org News Desk - Photos By: YYB}

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