Bravest rappels to save man, 81, in deadly UES fire
A firefighter saved an elderly man from a deadly Upper East Side blaze Thursday — just before flames started burning through the rescue rope as they dangled from the roof.
“I looked back up, and the windows were just fully engulfed in fire, and the rope that we came down on was on fire,” said 13-year veteran fireman Jim Lee, 43, of Rescue 1, who pulled off the “last-resort” maneuver to save James Duffy, 81, on the top floor of 324 E. 93rd St.
“The smoke was very thick, and I thought it was going to get me,’’ Duffy told The Post from his bed at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he was recovering from multiple burns.
“Then [Lee] comes down with rope to grab me. It was like seeing an angel.’’
The six-alarm inferno broke out at the five-story residential building around 3:25 a.m., the FDNY said.
Dozens of residents were evacuated as more than 250 firefighters battled the flames, which also damaged the adjacent buildings.
A man in his 40s was found dead on the third floor, officials said.
Lee was able to bring Duffy to safety within two minutes with the rare “roof-rope” rescue — where a firefighter is lowered down the side of the building using a non-flameresistant line.
Four other residents and 11 firefighters suffered minor injuries, officials said.
“There’s nothing at this time to tell us it’s suspicious,’’ said FDNY spokesman Jim Long.
Eighteen families were displaced from the fire, a Red Cross spokesperson said.