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FDNY firefighter meets man he saved in dramatic rope rescue

Firefighter Jim Lee snatched the 81-year-old victim out of a burning building, and managed to rappel to the ground just before the rope snapped

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FDNY firefighters work on rooftops in the aftermath of a fatal apartment building fire on the Upper East Side in New York, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016.

AP Photo/Craig Ruttle

By FireRescue1 Staff

NEW YORK — An FDNY firefighter had the opportunity to meet the man he saved in a dramatic rope rescue in October.

Firefighter Jim Lee, a Pennsylvania native, rappelled down a burning apartment building to rescue Jim Duffy, 81. The moment the two were lowered to the ground, the rope snapped, reported ABC. The rope rescue, which has not been done in five years, is considered a last resort.

“I said, ‘Thank God, it was a miracle.’ Or as I called it, a miracle on 93rd street,” Duffy said.

Eleven firefighters were injured and one civilian was killed in the fire. Duffy, who is still at a rehab facility, lost his home in the fire.

However, firefighters have set up a fund to raise money for Duffy to find a new home. Lee was one of several firefighters who visited Duffy at the rehab center.