Firefighters from LI still serious but stable

Dozens of firefighters kept a vigil Tuesday for two of their own -- James Gersbeck and Robert Weidmann -- two Long Islanders who were hurt Monday when hot gas morphed into a ball of fire and came barreling at them in a Brooklyn blaze.

Family, friends and co-workers of the two men wore clothing emblazoned with a Fire Department of New York insignia as they wished their wounded colleagues well at New York-Presbyterian Hospital / Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, some so distraught they declined to speak with reporters.

Gersbeck, 52, of Port Jefferson Station, and Weidmann, 32, of Islip Terrace, who are assigned to Rescue 2 in Brooklyn, were listed in stable condition.

Cellphone video captured the drama of the moment when flames burst onto Weidmann, who suffered burns on 42 percent of his body.

He "was literally on fire," when he was rescued through a third-story window, fire union president Stephen Cassidy told The Associated Press.

Officials said Gersbeck was less seriously burned and made it out by himself.

The firefighters were searching the front area of the third floor of a residential building at 1102 Prospect Place, near Prospect Park, when hot gases from the fire suddenly ignited, enveloping them in flames, fire officials said.

"The room literally lights up with fire. It's almost like a fireball," Chief of Department Edward Kilduff said. The cause of the fire was not determined.

Gersbeck tumbled down a stairway while Weidmann waited for an aerial ladder at the front window. He was pulled out of the building by other firefighters, Kilduff said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday that he spoke to both men, adding that they seemed to be in good spirits.

Three other firefighters who were working the fire in the rear of the apartment were treated for minor injuries and released, Kilduff said.

More than 100 firefighters and emergency crews responded.

In Weidmann's Islip Terrace neighborhood Tuesday, Nick Pelicati, 17, who lives opposite Weidmann, called his neighbor "a great guy."

"He'd do anything for anybody," Pelicati said. "If there's anybody who doesn't deserve what happened, it's him."

Pelicati said Weidmann, who has a wife and two children, helped him prepare to take the test for the Islip fire department, where Weidmann is a volunteer.

Gersbeck has two sons and a daughter between the ages of 14 and 18.

With Zachary R. Dowdy, Anthony M. DeStefano,

Igor Kossov and AP