By Laura Lane
Kiesow, an off-duty Nassau County school crossing guard who also works as an aide at the Park Avenue School in Bellmore, found out about the fire from one of the students she was watching during playtime, Bradley Kelly, 9. He could see that his house was on fire, and pleaded with Kiesow to help.
After calling 911 and ensuring that a hysterical Bradley was brought into the school, Kiesow raced over to the burning house, determined to help. She worried that the residents might be trapped in the house. She never guessed that they had no idea their house was on fire, and that one occupant, Patricia Fritz, Bradley's grandmother, would refuse to leave.
"Bradley's mother, Fran, didn't smell any smoke, and her daughter Amanda had just gotten out of the shower," said Kiesow, who got into the home through an unlocked side door. "I apologized to Amanda, told her to get dressed quickly and got them and Fran's brother-in-law out. Then I tried to get Fran's mother out, Patricia, who didn't want to leave."
Fritz, 65, was concerned about her cats, and told Kiesow that she'd never find them. Kiesow returned to the burning house three times to look for Fritz's cats, with no luck. Fritz insisted on returning to the burning house, saying that she had to find her cats herself, and that she wanted to retrieve her rings.
Fran's brother-in-law tried to convince Fritz to stay outside by returning to open one of the doors in the burning house. He told her that this would enable the cats to leave on their own. But Fritz wouldn't leave.
"Finally, Patricia sat on the couch to collect her thoughts and decide what she was going to bring out of the house," said Kiesow, who waited with her. "I started to worry that the ceiling might cave in on us, since I didn't know how long the fire had been blazing. It was then that I saw the black smoke coming down the stairs. I never saw anything like that. The smoke was coming down like lava."
Kiesow grabbed Fritz under her arms and dragged her out. Fritz resisted and, struggling, grabbed as many items as she could before leaving her house for the last time.
Outside, both women were stricken by coughing fits. Kiesow was worried about Fritz, who has emphysema. She stayed by her side to be certain that an emergency medical technician helped Fritz, who declined hospital treatment.
"I left only because Patricia was looking at me like she was concerned that I was having trouble breathing," said Kiesow. "Worrying seemed to make her have more trouble breathing."
Fritz was eventually transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside for treatment. Kiesow went back to work. "My throat was killing me and my eyes were red, my breathing strained," she recalled. "The principal told me I should go home, and it was then that everything I did hit me; the adrenaline was gone. I realized I had no idea where the gas tank was in the house. We could have blown up."
Kiesow returned to the burning house, where police officers insisted that she get into an ambulance. She said that because her blood pressure was high, she was treated for smoke inhalation, receiving oxygen. She didn't go to a hospital.
When Kiesow returned to work at Park Avenue on Monday, she received a hero's welcome. Children excitedly ran up to her, telling her they'd seen her on TV, and many had made cards for her. Kiesow thought it was cute that the children were so excited, but she doesn't see herself as a hero. She is considering joining the North Merrick Fire Department, although her husband is discouraging her.
"This was one of my dreams," said Kiesow, who originally had her sights set on being a police officer. Being a firefighter sounds good to her, too. "I love jobs like that, jobs with action and danger. I'd do what I did again tomorrow, without a blink of an eye. If I see something happening, I'm in it."
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
