By Luke Peteley
Staten Island Advance
NEW YORK — Of the five people transferred to the hospital from the scene of a house fire in Graniteville on Friday, one was listed in critical condition; two in serious, but non-life threatening condition, and another two suffered minor injuries, according to an FDNY spokesperson.
A baby rescued during the major emergency response has been identified as a person in critical condition at Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze.
Multiple reports poured into the FDNY of individuals trapped in a blaze at 267 Ada Drive, a semi-attached home near Farragut Avenue, at approximately 3:45 p.m. Friday, FDNY Deputy Chief John Russell told reporters at the scene.
The Advance/SILIve.com has since learned that the fire reportedly started on the first floor of the structure.
Capt. Anthony Harper of Engine Co. 163 in Westerleigh was the first officer on scene Friday. Upon arrival, a person approached Harper and brought him to the entrance on the left side of the home, saying that a baby was still in the basement.
Harper directly descended into the suffocating smoke-filled basement in an effort to locate the young child. There, Harper found the baby in the bottom bunk of a bunk bed toward the rear of the home. Rather than double back and subject the vulnerable child to additional smoke, Harper identified an opening.
“He saw that there was a window right there, and in an attempt to get the baby into the cleanest air possible as quickly as possible instead of going back through the apartment that he had just come through, he began to pass the baby just out into the fresh air,” Russell said.
Firefighter Ryan Smith of Ladder Co. 86 in Graniteville was conducting normal operations in the back of the residence when he saw the baby come through the window, the FDNY said. Springing into action, Smith took the child and rushed it to an ambulance on scene.
EMS worked on the baby at the site to stabilize the child before transporting it to Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze.
As shared by the department, FDNY Paramedics Daniel Fennell and Michael Strobel quickly administered hydroxocobalamin, a lifesaving treatment which is used to treat smoke inhalation.
The other injuries were suffered by two adults and two other children, who self-evacuated, the FDNY said.
The two-alarm blaze prompted a response by 25 units consisting of 106 fire and EMS personnel. Authorities say the fire was brought under control in just under 40 minutes and the cause of the fire remains under investigation by Fire Marshals.
(c)2025 Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
Visit Staten Island Advance, N.Y. at www.silive.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
