De Blasio honors firefighter who rescued infant, officer who saved Alzheimer's patient

An FDNY lieutenant from Hauppauge who plunged into a burning building to save a 3-week-old baby and an off-duty correction officer who saved an Alzheimer's patient from being struck by a car were honored Thursday for their heroism in a City Hall ceremony.

Fire Lt. Adam Vilagos couldn't see through thick smoke that had filled a Corona, Queens, home on Tuesday, but the 18-year department veteran followed a child's whimpers to a crib, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Vilagos brought the boy to safety and then went back into the building to fight the fire, de Blasio said.

Vilagos, 42, a nephew of FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro, thanked his fellow firefighters for their roles in the rescue.

"Nobody does anything alone in this job," he told Newsday after receiving a certificate of recognition from the mayor.

Correction Officer Daniel Leites, 32, of Arverne, Queens, who also received a certificate, was off-duty Monday when he saw a woman acting erratically on Woodhaven Boulevard in Elmhurst. She almost walked into traffic and Leites threw himself in front of her, de Blasio said. Leites was bumped by the vehicle himself.

The woman, who suffers from Alzheimer's, had wandered away from her family and was wearing a medical alert bracelet, which Leites used to contact her loved ones, the officer said. He gave her his sweater to ward off the cold and bought her a hamburger.

"Correction officers, we patrol the toughest precincts in New York, which are the jails," said Leites, a four-year veteran. "Even when we're off duty, we're always looking around."

He added: "I'm just glad she's OK."