Fire rescue in Woodmere

Two firefighters from the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department rescued a 61-year-old from a two-story, two-family house at 136 Prospect Ave. in Woodmere, while a married couple and their 4-year-old, who lived on the first floor, had to be relocated due to the fire last Friday at 7:11 p.m.

The fire, which was under control at 8:03 p.m., ignited in the kitchen of the upstairs residential area of the split-level home and following a search of the area, two firefighters, Capt. Anthony Rivelli and James McHugh, both of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, maneuvered into a rear bedroom and found the unidentified man and pulled him out of the house.

“A rescue like that you try to go as fast as possible,” said McHugh, a five-year veteran of the department, who works as a New York City emergency medical technician.

Rivelli, using a thermal imaging camera saw that a body was in the room and then he and McHugh grabbed the man and whisked him outside. The pair was two of six firefighters who fanned out during a search of the house.

“Anytime you go past a fire you are placing yourself in very, very grave danger,” said Woodmere Chief Richard Jankosky, who noted the difficulty of maneuvering through the house due to a large amount of items in the hallways and that the upstairs and no exit to the outside.

Rivelli, a 10-year veteran of the fire department and a New York City police officer, and McHugh, share a history with volunteer firefighting as Rivelli’s father is a past chief of the Inwood department and McHugh is a fourth generation volunteer firefighter, whose father, John, is currently the second-assistant chief of Lawrence-Cedarhurst.

“They are a true pleasure to work with, I can’t say enough about them,” Jankosky said about Rivelli and the younger McHugh.

The man sustained second-degree burns to his hands, neck and face and suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. His injuries are considered life threatening.

There was smoke damage to the downstairs residential area and the family is now in Far Rockaway, according to Sam Kille, a Nassau County Cross spokesman. “Volunteers from the Nassau Red Cross responded and provided funds for food and clothing to [them],” Kile said.

In addition, there were approximately 65 firefighters and 10 vehicles from Woodmere, Lawrence-Cedarhurst, Inwood, Meadowmere Park and Hewlett fire departments.