2 NYPD Officers Treated For Smoke Inhalation After Rushing Into Brooklyn Fire
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Two NYPD officers were released from the hospital Thursday night, after being treated for smoke inhalation as they rushed into a burning building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
As CBS 2's Tracee Carrasco reported, the fire in the four-story building on Scholes Street in Williamsburg happened just a day after another officer died responding to a fire in a building elsewhere in the same borough.
The fire broke out in a four-story building on Scholes Street in Williamsburg at around 1 p.m., CBS 2's Janelle Burrell reported.
The officers – Aml Esokary and Sgt. Adrian Harris – went into the building to alert people to the situation. They were taken to Woodhull Medical Center, where they were treated and had been released by 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
"A lady police knocked on the door, and she grabbed the baby and came down," said Carmen Del Rio.
Elsokary and Harris rushed to save Del Rio and her 1-year-odl granddaughter, Kaylee, as their apartment filled with smoke.
"Thank God that she was knocking on the door and helped me out, because I couldn't see anything," Del Rio said.
The two officers were passing by when Del Rio's son, David Diaz, flagged them down for help.
Diaz, who was in another room, managed to get out -- desperately calling for help with his relatives still inside.
"While I'm talking to 911 a police car comes through. We're waving them down and they pull over, they stop," he said.
"They go in my building and start knocking on all the doors," said Del Rio's son, David Diaz.
Seeing the commotion, he said the NYPD officer and sergeant jumped out and headed straight into the smoke-filled building.
"They go in my building and start knocking on all the doors," Diaz said.
Both officers made it out of the building after rescuing Del Rio's elderly husband. But they were overcome with the smoke.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton visited the officers as they recovered.
"They did an outstanding job; a very heroic job," Bratton said.
The events surrounding the fire in Brooklyn have startling similarities to a fire that killed a police officer earlier this week.
On Sunday, Officers Dennis Guerra and Rosa Rodriguez rushed into a burning public housing high-rise in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Guerra and Rodrighuez were overcome by smoke and carbon monoxide in the fire.
Guerra died three days later. Rodriguez remained hospitalized in critical condition as of Thursday night.
A wake for Guerra will be held Sunday and his funeral will be held Monday.
Marcell Dockery, 16, allegedly confessed to lighting a mattress on fire because he was bored. Dockery faces arson, assault and reckless endangerment charges, although prosecutors are expected to upgrade the charges as early as Friday.
The NYPD did not have protocol in place for police officers who respond to fires before Sunday's deadly incident, prompting department brass to enact a new policy on Wednesday.
Police detailed precautions that should be taken, including:
- Having officers walk up to a fire whenever possible.
- Not having all officers utilize the same elevator or stairwell.
- And stopping the elevator every fifth floor to check the elevator shaft for smoke.
The cause of Thursday's fire in Williamsburg was believed to be electrical.
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