NY Daily News
NEW YORK — It was a true baptism by fire.
A rookie firefighter with just two months on the job was hailed a hero Tuesday after he fought through smoke and flames to rescue an unconscious boy trapped in a burning apartment. Justin Tallett, 27, burst into the rear bedroom of a Brooklyn flat around 11 a.m., found the 4-year-old boy motionless under a blanket and then carried him to safety, officials said.
Tallett, a former Army medic who completed a stint in Afghanistan in 2012, brushed off praise, saying he simply relied on his training and instincts. “I just knew I had to get him out of the apartment,” Tallett said, his face still stained with soot. “That was really the only thing I was thinking.” The critically injured boy, identified as Trevele Belton, was resuscitated on his way to the hospital and is expected to survive.