By Erin Calabrese and Reuven Fenton
The New York Post
NEW YORK — Ten people — including a 7-month-old child who was dangled from a fourth-floor window by her terrified cousin — were plucked from a Bronx apartment inferno in a stunning series of rescues yesterday, authorities said.
Firefighters rushed to the high-rise on Pelham Parkway and Wallace Avenue shortly after 2 p.m. to find several people trapped in a smoke-clogged, three-bedroom apartment and many at windows gasping for air.
Michel Alexander, 19, was dangling from a rope on the Pelham Parkway side of the building, part of a public-housing project, when firefighters arrived.
“We were saying to him, ‘Don’t jump! Don’t jump!’ ” said firefighter Sean O’Donnell of Truck Co. 32.
But Alexander let go before his would-be rescuers could raise a ladder, smashing into an awning and plunging to the pavement. He broke his wrist, ankle and nose.
Outside a rear window, 18-year-old Vanessa Scott was dangling Zaniyeh Hewitt, her 7-month-old cousin.
“I knew she would get air if she would get out the window,” the shaken teen said.
Passer-by Ebony Rosario heard the frantic teen screaming, “Please catch my baby” and “I don’t want to die.”
Firefighters Keith Lagan and Ron Fuentes managed to lug a heavy, 35-foot ladder over a fence and make the rescue.
Fuentes grabbed the baby and a 6-year-old. After carrying the scared kids to safety, Lagan went up and rescued the panicked cousin, who told him that 2-year-old Neveah Hewitt was also inside.
“I couldn’t imagine what was going on in her head,” said Lagan, a 10-year veteran and father of three.
The 2-year-old and two adults were rescued by firefighter Brian Martz, who whisked them down an interior staircase.
Fifth-floor resident Jonathan Demers, 20, said the 2-year-old didn’t “have a breath of air in her” when she was removed. But rescue workers managed to revive the tot.
Alexander and the children were taken to Jacobi Hospital. The children’s mother, Saschelle Hewitt, 22, said all three were expected to be OK.
Meanwhile, O’Donnell and firefighter John Robel brought two children and two adults to safety from another window.
A large crowd gathered outside the building to cheer as each rescue was made. “We were all crying and clapping,” said Isabel Vazques, 52.
At least eight civilians and two fighters were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. There were no fatalities.
“It went well,” said O’Donnell, a 19-year FDNY veteran. “Many jobs don’t go this well.”
Additional reporting by Jessica Simeone
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