Elmont board member: Thanks for fire rescue
An overloaded extension cord plugged into a space heater sparked a fire at an Elmont home Friday that forced a resident to jump from a second-floor porch ledge into the arms of her husband and an emergency services volunteer, police and fire officials said. (Feb. 25, 2011) Credit: Paul Mazza
The Elmont school official who leaped to safety from her burning home said Tuesday she was grateful for the bravery of the volunteer EMT who urged her to jump and helped catch her.
"I thank God that my children were not home and that neither I nor anyone else was injured," Deniece Walker, a member of the Elmont School Board, said in a statement Tuesday.
Walker said she was at her Gotham Avenue home on Friday night when a fire broke out.
"I made my way to a window and climbed out onto a roof," Walker said in the statement. There, she found herself perched 12 feet above the ground with the fire raging behind her.
Elmont Fire Department volunteer EMT Lisa Johnston had noticed the flames a block from her home and came to the Walkers' house. She found Walker's husband outside on the ground and his wife stuck on a ledge, Johnston said last week.
"She made it to the edge of the roof and kind of stopped," Johnston said Saturday.
Walker, 45, said Johnston and a family member "called to me from the ground and urged me to jump. I did and they caught me."
Johnston checked Walker to make sure she hadn't been hurt. Walker was later treated for smoke inhalation but was not hurt in the leap.
The fire burned so hot, it warped metal siding on a house next door and melted Johnston's cell phone, which was dropped during the rescue.
The fire was started by an overloaded extension cord plugged into a space heater, Nassau police said. The family dog died in the fire.
Four fire departments and 80 firefighters put out the blaze. At one point, nearby wires caught fire, dropped onto a bush and ignited it, causing Elmont Fire Department Chief James Prince to order trucks away.
"The embers were flying everywhere," he said Saturday.
Johnston also works for the Elmont school district as a secretary.
"I thank Lisa Johnston, John Lukas, FF/EMT, Fire Chief James Prince and the Elmont Fire Department for their expert handling of the situation," Walker said. "This is again a reminder of their bravery and their willingness to risk their lives for their neighbors."
With Emily Dooley
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
