Update: November 15th, 2013 @ 6:20 PM: When Officer Christopher Germano arrived at the house fire at 34 Wisconsin Ave., Bay Shore, Good Samaritans had already set up a ladder to the second floor. Officer Germano went to the ladder where a Good Samaritan handed the boy to Officer Germano.
Officer Germano then went into the first floor of the house and advised the occupants to evacuate the home. The main staircase connecting the two floors was outside the home and engulfed in flames. Officer Germano was advised that there was a pull-down ladder to the second floor. The ladder had apparently been covered up by plywood. Officer Germano was handed a knife by either a Good Samaritan or a resident and pried open the plywood. He then climbed the ladder and told the residents in the second floor to evacuate because the house was on fire. A woman came to the ladder and Officer Germano assisted the woman down to the first floor.
There were still people in the first floor and Officer Germano helped clear the house.
Below is the original release.
Bay Shore, NY - November 15th, 2013 - Suffolk County Police Arson Section detectives are investigating a house fire in Bay Shore during which a Third Precinct police officer rescued several residents this morning.
Third Precinct Police Officer Christopher Germano responded to a call of a house fire at 34 Wisconsin Ave. at 6:37 a.m., and upon arrival, he discovered that the second floor was fully engulfed in flames. Officer Germano obtained a ladder from a neighbor and put it up to the second floor window. One adult on the second floor handed the officer a 3-year-old boy and the officer brought him down the ladder.
Officer Germano went into the first floor of the house and advised the occupants, several adults, a 13-year-old male and a 6-year-old male, to evacuate the home. The main staircase connecting the two floors was outside the home and engulfed in flames. One resident notified Officer Germano that there was a pull-down ladder to the second floor. The officer discovered that it had been boarded up and obtained a knife from the kitchen. Officer Germano cut a hole through the wood, gained entry to the second floor and removed a 35-year-old woman and her 12-year-old son.
The Brentwood Fire Department extinguished the fire. A 62-year-old male resident of the home was transported by Brentwood Legion Ambulance to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore for non-life-threatening injuries. Officer Germano suffered smoke inhalation and was transported by a police vehicle to Southside Hospital where he was treated and released. Arson Section detectives are continuing the investigation.
Incident: Officer Rescues Several People from House Fire
Location: 34 Wisconsin Ave., Bay Shore
Date/Time: Saturday, November 15, 2013 at 6:37 a.m.