By EVAN NEMEROFF
Helicher's friend and neighbor Christopher Brower, 38 — a volunteer with the Hewlett Fire Department — his wife Linda, 42, their 14-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and 12-year-old son William, were battling heavy smoke and flames in the upper level of their two-family house down the block.
Helicher, who has been a firefighter for eight years, rushed outside, where he was told by Brower, who was hustling his children outside, that his wife was still upstairs. Helicher ran in and found Linda Brower lying face-down on a staircase, which was filled with thick black smoke. She did not respond to his questions, so Helicher dragged her down the staircase and out of the house through their front entrance, where her husband and another firefighter, David Campbell, carried her to the sidewalk, where EMT's attended to her.
"If Linda wasn’t near the staircase, I don't know if I would have been able to rescue her because of all the smoke," Helicher said. "Other individuals and myself agree that this was all luck. But luck has two parts -— opportunity and skill. So, without skill training for over eight years, this could’ve been a different outcome."
Neither Christopher nor Linda Brower would have known about the fire if it weren't for their children. Elizabeth crawled from the front of the house to the back, where her parents were sleeping, to tell them about the smoke. William, meanwhile, banged on the wall to alert his parents to the fire.
"My children are the true lifesavers during this," Brower said. "We wouldn't have woken up if it weren't for them banging and screaming, telling us that there was a fire."
Both kids had learned what to do in a fire in the Hewlett F.D.'s junior training program — among other things, to cover their faces with their shirts to keep from inhaling smoke. Brower said that the work done at these training sessions is invaluable, and he is thankful for the knowledge his children gained.
The fire started in the kitchen of the first-floor apartment occupied by Brower’s tenants, whose names have not been released for privacy reasons. The tenants were asleep in a bedroom next to the kitchen. The fire is still under investigation by the Nassau County fire marshal's office, but is not deemed suspicious.
After the Browers made it out of the house safely, Michael Sasso, the Lawrence-Cedarhurst fire chief, arrived at the scene and banged on the front door of the tenants’ apartment while yelling that there was a fire. There was no response, so Sasso entered the apartment, which he quickly searched and found the couple, whom he escorted outside. They did not suffer any injuries.
Sasso commended the heroic effort by Helicher. "Andrew has always been a solid fireman since the day he started," Sasso said. "He knows what he’s doing, and his training and basic instincts came to the rescue during this fire."
Linda Brower, who suffered smoke inhalation and a broken nose, was treated at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow and released last Sunday, according to her husband. "Linda is getting better every day," Christopher said. "This hospital has done a great job treating my wife and getting her better." Since the fire, the Browers have been staying with Linda's parents in Hewlett.
Hewlett Fire Chief Otto Kohlmier said he was relieved that the Browers escaped from the blaze. "There was not a lot of time to react at the time of the fire, and Chris did an excellent job getting his kids out and getting aid for his wife ...," Kohlmier said. "Christopher is a good fireman who is going to get promoted to lieutenant for our third truck next week for all his work that he has done with our department."
Though the Browers made it out of their house safely, they lost 12 cats and two dogs in the fire. One of their dogs, Franklin, ran out during the blaze, but was found alive last Friday, and returned to the family.
The Five Towns Community Center is working with the Number Five School in Cedarhurst to collect clothes and monetary donations for the Browers. Donations can be dropped off at either the community center or the school.
Helicher said that if their roles had been reversed, he is sure Brower would have done the same thing for him. "I did this because it’s my job," Helicher said. "I just want to keep moving forward with my life. I have a positive attitude because I did the right thing, which is something that I always do. This is really what anybody would do for another person. We’ve known each other for a long time, and now we have an even better relationship."
Comments about this story? ENemeroff@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
