Passerby Rescues 8-Month-Old Baby From Top Floor of Burning Building

firefighters Rescue hero

By Jackelyn Cornejo , Parent Herald Feb 05, 12:25 am

Photo: (Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

In New York, a man demonstrated extraordinary bravery by scaling the facade of a burning Brooklyn building to save children, including an infant.

8-Month-Old Baby Rescued From Apartment Fire

A Spring Valley resident received a commendation for rescuing an 8-month-old baby during a Saturday afternoon fire at an apartment complex.

The emergency call was received just after 2:30 p.m., reporting a kitchen fire on the second floor of a unit on West Eckerson Road.

This real-life heroic act unfolded in East New York, with Juan Dilone, dubbed the neighborhood's own Spider-Man, seen in a video climbing a three-story structure to rescue three children from a fire, one of them a mere 3 months old and clad only in a diaper.

Juan Dilone recounted the events, stating, "My wife was in the window. She saw the guy yelling, 'help, help, help,' so we see the smoke coming out through the roof, and she told me, 'go, go help.'"

Dilone, responding to the cries and witnessing a desperate father attempting to evacuate his kids through a window, shared, "A lot of smoke was coming out, but all I got on my mind was the kids, you know, trying to save them."

Without hesitation, he took action, recalling, "I ran. I climbed the wall to try to reach the kids, so the father passed the kid to me, then I grabbed it, passed it to them."

Climbing up the building to a third-floor window, Dilone held on with one hand and successfully retrieved each child, passing them to neighbors who had gathered below.

"They were crying, so once we got down, all the neighbors covered them with blankets," Dilone mentioned.

Dilone attributed his climbing abilities to his childhood experiences in the Dominican Republic, stating, "I've been climbing since I was a baby back home, you know. Climbing trees, jumping around, so it was normal."

The incident occurred around noon on Friday on Hendrix Street near Sutter Avenue. Firefighters arrived and rescued the parents and another child who were trapped inside.

Although Dilone's daughter playfully calls him Spider-Man, he humbly views himself as being in the right place at the right time, saying, "Thank God I was here. He put me here by that time so I could help them, to save them, you know."

New York Apartment Building Fire

According to emergency officials, the fire ignited in the afternoon at a residence on West Eckerson Road in Spring Valley. Numerous tenants faced difficulties evacuating as smoke inundated the hallways. A resident from a nearby complex described how he swiftly intervened, scaling a tree and navigating a fence to access the building's fire escape and reach the top floor, where he successfully rescued the infant.

Recounting the incident, Jean Donald Mathieu shared, "I saw a lot of people over there, they were screaming. I saw one baby, I think she was 1 year old. I attempted to save the baby."

While residents navigated the dense smoke and utilized the fire escape to evacuate, Jean Donald Mathieu, returning home from work, witnessed the situation and immediately took action.

Mathieu noticed the baby, Isabella, along with her mother and possibly another individual on the upper floor. Without hesitation, he sprang into action, climbing a tree, overcoming a metal fence, and rushing towards the smoking building. Utilizing a narrow fire escape ladder, Mathieu reached the third floor and safely rescued Isabella from harm.

Expressing her gratitude, Isabella's mother, Katia Locrete Pierre-Louis, acknowledged Mathieu's heroic efforts.

Syndia Preval, who was at work during the incident and learned that the fire had damaged her apartment, received a call from Mathieu explaining the situation.

As of Saturday night, the cause of the fire remained unclear. The rescued family was taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation, and they are looking forward to recovery.

Dilone's message highlighted the importance of helping others in need if you have the ability to do so.