NEW YORK — Twenty years after rescuing a toddler from an apartment fire, an FDNY firefighter met the young man whose life he saved Thursday.
Firefighter Erik Weiner, 59, saved 3-year-old Arif Wedderburn from a fire in 1996, NY Daily News reported. Wedderburn, now 23, had to opportunity to formally meet and thank Weiner for saving his life, who only recently learned that Wedderburn survived the fire.
After Wedderburn struck up a conversation with FDNY Battalion Chief Joe McHugh at a restaurant last year, the chief promised to reunite him with the man that saved his life.
“I cannot tell you how many years I dreamt of this moment to just say thank you,” Wedderburn, said.
Weiner, who initially rescued Wedderburn’s sister from the apartment, returned to save Wedderburn after she told him her brother was still in the apartment.
“Any one of those guys would’ve done the exact same thing,” Weiner said.
At a celebration with 40 other firefighters at Weiner’s old firehouse, he and Wedderburn embraced and exchanged words.
“If you didn’t do what you did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. We wouldn’t be having this celebration right now,” Wedderburn said. “I’m really trying me best not to cry right now. This is monumental.”