Public Employee Press

DOT heroes save family, put out fire

Two DC 37 members became heroes to a Brooklyn family Nov. 29 when the quick-thinking workers helped them escape from their blazing home.

Highway Repairer Guy Ferraro of Local 376 and Assistant HR Floyd Nesfield of Local 983 were repaving East 31st Street when they saw smoke billowing out of a nearby house and heard a woman crying for help.

The pair leaped into action, grabbed the fire extinguisher from their Dept. of Transportation truck and ran into the smoke-filled basement apartment where they found two children, a teen and a toddler.

“It was really quick,” Nesfield said. “People were screaming to save the baby stroller, but I said, ‘Forget that, we need to save the people!’ ”

After leading the family to safety, the two DOT workers went back inside and extinguished the fire, which had started on a stove piled with boxes and papers. Shortly, city Firefighters arrived.

“The house was very smoky, we were coughing our lungs out from the smoke and the chemicals from the fire extinguisher,” Nesfield said.

A potentially explosive helium tank and half-empty cans of paint and other flammable materials were stored in the cluttered apartment. Nesfield said, “We took one look at each other. We could have died.”

“I just thank God that no one was hurt,” said Ferraro.