Hops off bus, then saves kids in blaze

THE STUDIO apartment was engulfed in thick smoke and flames were shooting out the window.

But Delroy Lewis, 63, bravely dashed inside to rescue two young kids he heard crying for help.

“I just went to them and yanked them by the hand,” recalled Lewis (photo) of the Jan. 3 blaze in Mariners Harbor, Staten Island.

Lewis, an environmental services worker for NYC Health and Hospitals, spotted the fire as he got off the B48 bus on his way home from work.

He ran to the scene and knocked on the doors of all the nearby tenants. At first, he didn’t realize anyone was trapped inside the burning apartment.

But after knocking a second time, he was somehow able to pry open the door. That’s when he heard the cries.

“I was at the right place at the right time,” he told the Daily News.

He carried the two boys, who he believes are around 4 to 6, to safety outside.

The children said they were being watched by their grandmother, but no adult was inside at the time. They were taken by authorities.

“They were shaking. They were frozen,” Lewis remembered.

He also rescued another tenant, Wanda Armstrong, by helping her down the stairs.

“While we’ve always thought the world of him, these acts of heroism demonstrate that he’s not just a great employee. He’s a hero. His co-workers and I are proud to work with him,” said his boss, Angelo Mascia.