It was Jordan Sullivan's first fire, and he was still on probation as a firefighter, but the 36-year-old packed a huge punch at a Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment blaze Sunday, aiding in the rescue of four children, including a 5-month-old, the New York Post reports.
"On the way in, my heart was racing. I was thinking, 'My first fire.' I was excited," said Sullivan.
He and his colleagues from Ladder Company 105 raced to the blaze at the Wyckoff Gardens city housing complex about 1:30 a.m., battling through the flames and thick smoke to get to any victims.
He soon came upon the 5-month-old lying in a carriage.
"The baby was not conscious. I just knew I had to get the baby out," he told the Post, adding that he hurried to get the baby outside, handing the infant off to another firefighter and heading back inside.
"Visibility was very poor," Sullivan said. "I checked behind the door for victims."
Visibility was so poor that Sullivan and his colleagues had to use their hands to feel about to find anyone in the apartment.
They found an 8-year-old girl with serious burns, and a 14-year-old boy and a girl of about 14 months old, both suffering from smoke inhalation.
Firefighters put oxygen masks on the children and rushed them out of the building.
"He did a great job," Lt. John LaBarbera told the Post. "I think it's extraordinary, coupled with the fact that it's his first fire."
According to the news site, the 8-year-old was in critical condition in the burn center at New York Hospital. The 5-month-old, being treated at the same hospital, was in stable condition. The other two children were also in stable condition and being treated at New York Methodist Hospital.
It was not immediately clear how the fire started.
Read more at the New York Post.