A firefighter critically hurt battling a five-alarm Bronx fire was greeted with cheers and claps at his release from the hospital Tuesday.
FDNY Engine 81 fireman William Levering walked out of New Yok Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center at 4 p.m. to a roar of appreciation from fellow firefighters and first responders.
“I just want to thank the hospital staff at Corneil, the burn center, amazing,” Levering said. “They helped me in my recovery. I’m just happy to be healthy and excited to go home and see my son, 9-month-old son son and my wife. So thank you all.”
Levering was among eight other firefighters, four EMS workers and two civilians injured while battling the blaze that erupted about 7:20 p.m. Sunday in a multi-family home on Devoe Terrace near W. 190th St. The inferno quickly engulfed the residence before spreading to two other houses.
The blaze — sparked from lithium ion batteries — started on the front porch of an estimated 115-year-old wood building where the batteries were located. The flames quickly rose to the attic as firefighters faced heavy smoke, officials said.
“We continue to see over and over again the role that lithium ion batteries are showing,” Mayor Adams said when he examined the aftermath of the blaze on Monday. “This is why we are looking at every measure possible to remove these batteries off our street… We are fortunate that no one was killed.”
Most of the injured firefighters in the blaze suffered minor heat exhaustion, but Levering suffered severe smoke inhalation, FDNY officials said.
“This is a big family and today is the happiest day where a critically injured firefighter who is out there protecting the public walks out of the hospital,” said FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker. “This could have been different and we are just thankful.”
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